Chronicle Editor
Stephen Mpofu, Perspective
“CURIOSA and curiosa.” That was probably the reaction of thousands if not millions of belly-sunken, belt-tightened Zimbabweans to what was obviously the sour news to the effect that Government subsidies on mealie-meal and rice had been removed — and mammon spirited retailers immediately hiked the price of mealie-meal to more than ZW$100 from about ZW$65 for a 10kg bag.
But, of course, the report on the subsidies removal could not be farther from the truth, as confirmed by President Mnangagwa who said two days ago that the subsidies had been restored.
The President, speaking at the 2019 National Youth Convention in Kadoma, said: “I heard that the subsidy on mealie-meal and rice had been removed, No”.
But come to think of it, who decided on the withdrawal of the subsidies in question without the approval of Cabinet and of the Head of State who is ultimately accountable to the nation for the performance, good or bad, of his Government, so that an impression, obviously erroneous, may have been created to the effect that the ruling Zanu (PF) party and its Government were institutions peopled by creatures who live in a wealthy country of their own and, as such, not concerned with the plight of the masses beleaguered by an economy virtually wrecked by illegal Western sanctions.
To the contrary, the President’s announcement about the restoration of the subsidies in question and the announcement by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Industry and Commerce and Land, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement that the Government had suspended customs duty and scrapped import permits on grain, maize-meal and wheat flour demonstrates beyond any shadow of doubt that ours is a Government of the people by the people for the people.
However, the Government might wish to institute an ubiquitous monitoring body to ensure that individuals as well as companies that possess the capital to import the food commodities in question do not profiteer from them and in that way become companions of price-hikers who are literally milking the blood of even the poorest of the poor and then go smiling to their banks.
Women’s organisations in our country should also explore ways of imparting knowledge about bread-making to mothers, particularly in the countryside, so that families out there have access to less expensive wheat products and in that way end the current situation where, for instance, school children suffer hunger for lack of easily accessible products for their sustenance.
The other good news concerns Government’s decision to franchise ZUPCO to operate more taxis in urban centres, including our own City of Kings and Queens, where pirate taxis and some registered taxi operators approximate disciples of Mammon, further impoverishing workers travelling to and fro between home and industries to create more wealth for the nation, by swindling them out of their measly savings.
It is to be hoped that the Government will also consider additional relief measures for our people until the economy is restored to full throttle.
Online Reporter