Expectations high for new Cabinet

Clarkson Mambo
Zimbabweans and the rest of the world await with bated breath announcement of the new Cabinet with names of potential ministers already being bandied around. In the suggestions being made, some former ministers are being retained while others accused of being non-performers are being given the boot.

There is indeed a lot of expectations for the new drivers of the economy since for the most part the performance of Zanu-F in next elections will hinge largely on the direction that it is going to steer the economy.

The death or resurrection of the opposition, especially former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC, will largely depend on the performance of the incoming team as the economy, largely stagnant in the last days of the inclusive Government, needs a magic touch.

With economic growth having already been revised downwards from 5 to 3,4 percent this year, it will be incumbent on the new Government and especially the Finance Minister to ensure there is no further revision of the figure into negative territory.

Improvement of the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans will depend on the performance of the economy which had largely become informalised and meaningless to the academia.

The majority of the workers, especially civil servants, have continued to earn salaries far below the Poverty Datum Line while at the same time prices of basic goods and services have slowly been on the rise.

Cancellation of rates arrears provided a huge sigh of relief from the burdened workforce and ordinary citizens but the new Government has to do more to ensure that from henceforth workers would be able to pay the rates on time and not expect a repeat of such relief.

Inflation has largely been contained in the last five years and it will be no mean feat to ensure that it is always kept in check.
Those who are anti-Zanu-PF are already keeping their fingers crossed that the inflation bubble will once again fly out of control to justify their calls for outside interference in the country’s internal affairs.

Among these are the people who have been maliciously spreading rumours that Zanu-PF intended to immediately re-introduce the Zimbabwe dollar, that petrol prices had gone up and there was hoarding of basic commodities soon after announcement of its triumph in the just ended elections.

The lies were meant to cause alarm and destabilise the economy, prompting President Mugabe and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to rebuff them, reassuring the people that the local currency would be re-introduced once conditions for its return were favourable.

One main setback for President Mugabe and the Cabinet will be the continued imposition of Western sanctions on the economy and on top Government officials.

Angered by apparent failure of its regime change agenda and Zanu-PF’s never die persona the United States has already announced that it will keep the more than decade long illegal embargo on the country.

It is not a secret that the Americans and their Western allies are angry that the polls in Zimbabwe did not reflect their own desire, which was to see Zimbabweans giving President Mugabe and Zanu-PF the boot.

With experience gained over the past decade, it will be in the interest of the new Government to find ways to bust the sanctions and improve the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.

The rest of the progressive world, which has endorsed the just ended polls, must also take up the call by the Southern African Development Community for the embargo on Zimbabwe to be lifted unconditionally.

The new Government must also take its crusade to rid the economy of other vices, chiefly corruption, which continue to impact on development.
Anti-corruption fighters must be given teeth to clean up the economy and ensure the country gets its dues instead of individuals benefiting from deals at the expense of the economy as Zimbabweans need jobs and all aspects of their social lives to be improved.

President Mugabe has already said Zanu-PF will deliver on its long list of election promises.
The new Cabinet must ensure that these promises are kept by working to deliver more than what the nation expects as failure, like what Reserve of Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono was renowned for saying, it is not an option.

Otherwise come 2018 the opposition will once again find doors open to regain lost ground and pose a threat to the revolutionary party. — New Ziana.