Minister Biti up to something

Surely, we are tired of hearing Biti crying ad nauseam that Government has no money and thus is going to cut on this and increase on that.
If he cannot decipher ways of delivering the nation from this economic stagnation, then he has no reason to stay as the Minister of Finance.
What Biti should know is that this is not the first time that the country has faced such constraining economic challenges for we have confronted, among other things, a biting shortage of foreign currency, hyper-inflation and a critical shortage of basic commodities.
The Zanu-PF Ministers of Finance then did not throw their hands in the air and say there is nothing we can do but freeze civil servants’ salaries or uncontrollably cry that Government has no money.
Despite the desperate economic situations, the Zanu-PF ministers did not lose hope but introduced various financial and monetary interventions that included bearer cheques, price controls, Bacossi, civil servants’ buses, salary vouchers and eventually the multi-currency system.
Never did the responsible minister then decide to freeze the salaries of civil servants. Civil servants religiously got their salaries, which were now and then reviewed upwards to cushion them against the vagaries of the hyper-inflationary environment.
What we are saying is that responsible ministers of finance then did not give up the fight to raise revenue for the country because they knew it was their mandate to find money for the people.
In this sense, Biti should know that it is his duty to look for money to cater for the country’s needs.
We are therefore baffled and at the same time suspicious of Minister Biti’s failure to find possible ways to raise adequate revenue for the country.
When civil servants are genuinely asking for a living wage, why would Minister Biti decide to arrogantly freeze their salaries and subsequently threaten them that they will soon fail to get the little they are receiving every month?
Similarly, why would Minister Biti then uncaringly seek to further impoverish the same workers by deliberately increasing duty on fuel and flour knowing very well such increases will certainly trigger price hikes of basic commodities, which will drastically erode the civil servants’ meagre earnings?
It should also be noted that for the first time in the history of an independent Zimbabwe, civil servants have been denied their traditional annual salary increments, which normally fall in January or July.
We are also flabbergasted why the minister would prefer to raise duty on vital commodities like fuel and flour yet he continues to maintain zero duty on the fast moving and non-essential information and communication technology (ICT) equipment.
Surpringly, the minister is also maintaining zero duty on foreign newspapers entering our borders.
Could the people really manage to read newspapers or surf the internet on an empty stomach?
People need food on their tables not newspapers or laptops. Notably, the minister could get huge revenue by introducing duty on the luxurious and fast selling ICT equipment and foreign newspapers.
Mindful of the afore-mentioned warped tax policies, one is left wondering what Minister Biti is really up to.
It would not be astray to conclude that Minister Biti is subtly trying to brew or nurture the protest vote in view of the forthcoming elections.
Having thrived on protest as a student leader and later as an opposition politician, Minister Biti is pinning his hope on creating disgruntlement among the people with the hope of using the eventual civil resentment to earn political mileage.
It will be instructive to know that the MDC-T came to life through protests associated with labour activism in ZCTU and student activism in Zinasu.
Since its inception, the party has also shown in different ways that it intends to use nothing but protests to get into power.
It is, therefore, by design that the MDC-T’s main political tools revolve around protests.
These include mass demonstrations, boycotts, final pushes, stoning of buses, bombing police stations and marching to the State House.
Even the votes that got them into the inclusive Government were protest votes cast by people who were hood-winked to believe that the sanctions’ driven economic meltdown of 2008 was caused by Zanu-PF.
It is also not a coincidence that MDC-T leash holders imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe with the intention of not only making the “economy scream” but also to make the people scream.
Once the people “scream” in protest, regime changers expect them to ditch Zanu-PF.
With the recent uprisings in North Africa still fresh in the people’s minds, Minister Biti and associates are forlornly hoping that such belligerence will be replicated in Zimbabwe for their political advantage.
We therefore warn Minister Biti not to play politics with our lives, fuel or bread.