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Trevor Shiri Correspondent
Zimbabweans are a curious lot. We celebrated the resignation of former president Robert Mugabe in November 2017, whom we all believed had failed to steer Zimbabwe’s doddering economy.
Zimbabweans marched. Zimbabweans ululated. Zimbabweans celebrated.
The reason for the celebration was two-fold in my view — that the architect of the failures of our under-performing economy had left office, and secondly, that the New Dispensation led by His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa would dig Zimbabwe out of the economic cesspit.
Barely two years later, there is growing scepticism even from people who should know better over the trajectory that the economy is taking.
They cite price hikes of basic commodities, shortage of foreign currency, shortages of fuel, among other economic frailties as indicators that the New Dispensation has failed. Lo and behold, really?
President Mnangagwa has been a sober, pragmatic and unshaken leader in his resolve to take the tough decisions that no one is willing to take to revive Zimbabwe’s economy.
The economic challenges affecting the country are legacy issues, high domestic and international debt, under-performing manufacturing industry, an import-dependent economy, a currency-less economy dependent on a basket of foreign currencies, among a host of inherited problems. Correcting these issues is no small task. It is a mean task.
Fully aware of the reality of our situation, President Mnangagwa deliberately embarked on a mission to cut on Government expenditure under the auspices of the “Austerity for Prosperity,” theme.
But what are austerity measures? The Financial Times gives a simplified definition which fully captures the essence of austerity. It defines them as “official actions taken by the government, during a period of adverse economic conditions, to reduce its budget deficit using a combination of spending cuts or tax rises.”
These harsh steps are taken to lower budget deficits and avoid a debt crisis, a crisis that Zimbabwe is currently grappling with, but is on the road to addressing by being austere.
President Mnangagwa has been consistent at various platforms, preparing Zimbabweans to brace for the effects of austerity measures, which are usually painful to the masses, but are the only way to revive our economy.
In September 2018, the President told Bloomberg TV that “we have to be very sober. It is true that our fiscal balance is bad and we must be honest to our people as to what we want to achieve and to do. So there is need for us to apply fundamentals that may be harsh to our people, but are necessary for us to cross the bridge.”
In November 2018, President Mnangagwa compared Zimbabwe’s situation to that of Great Britain under former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
He said that, “when Margaret Thatcher was elected UK Prime Minister in 1979, she recognised that piecemeal change would not be sufficient to tackle the problems of labour unrest, rampant inflation and economic stagnation.
A wholesale transformation and modernisation of the British economy was required. While there would inevitably be downsides to such rapid change, Thatcher was undeterred.”
He further said that, “the challenges that Zimbabwe faces today are no less acute.
“But my Government is committed to tackling them head-on. Like Thatcher, we are not afraid of taking tough, and at times painful decisions. As she used to put it, there is no alternative.”
Addressing journalists at a roundtable discussion at State House in February 2019, President Mnangagwa insisted that, “the laws of demand and supply must work. As a leader, I know nobody will be happy with austerity measures because they come with a lot of pain.”
He added that “but my job is to lead the country to where it ought to go, not where individuals want. I was and am still aware some of our people will be angry. It’s okay.”
This is the crux of the matter. Nothing that is happening now in our economy was not anticipated. Everything was. The pain is now there, it has to be endured. It is what Zimbabwe requires to narrow, or even wipe out its debts. Prices have gone up. True. But the issue is, Government cannot increase salaries when it needs to be austere.
To borrow from biblical wisdom, Zimbabwe was in Egypt prior to 1980 and indeed in the last 20 years of post-independent Zimbabwe. Mugabe, like Moses did his part, but could not finish the journey to Canaan — the prosperous Zimbabwe that we all want. He got captured along the way, and lost the people’s vision.
In the same way that Joshua assumed the reins and led his people into the Promised Land, Canaan, after 40 years of wondering in a difficult, painful, harsh desert, President Mnangagwa, is taking Zimbabwe on the final lap to the Promised Land.
The Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) is set to end in 2020, setting the stage for the attainment of an upper middle income economy by 2030 through two 5 year economic successor plans. The TSP is a stabilisation programme to calm the ship in the turbulent economic waters.
It is a truism that the President has amply warned, prepared and told Zimbabweans to brace for austerity measures that may appear harsh, but are in the medium to long-term designed to set the economy back on track. It is our duty as Zimbabweans to endure and persevere as the President steers the country out of the wilderness.
This is no time for people to lose heart and faith in the able and pragmatic leadership of President Mnangagwa. The period of pain is now, but it will not last forever.
Some are even suggesting outlandish proposals that President Mnangagwa should consummate an Inclusive Government to stabilise the economy just because the economic pain is now biting.
No, the President has to remain steadfast and forge ahead with the mandate he was given through the ballot.
The current economic problems are an extension of legacy issues, which the President’s austerity measures are seeking to correct.
This is not the time to develop “mutyutyu.” It is the time to steadfastly stand by the Commander-In-Chief in this difficult time. This is the only way, and like Thatcher said, there is no alternative.
Online Reporter