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Harare – While President Mugabe on Tuesday put to rest the speculation on possible members of a new Cabinet, there are a number of stubborn facts which the new Minister of Finance and his Industry and Commerce counterpart have to contend with.Expectations for the two are mountain high and will be the bedrock on which the stuttering economy would prosper.
On getting into office, the Finance Minister, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, would find himself holding an empty purse but with a long queue of Government Ministries and Departments, parastatals and civil servants looking up to the Exchequer to bail them out with financial relief.
With President Mugabe having made a pledge, which he has promised to fulfil, of improving the welfare and salaries, the Minister has three months within which to make a meaningful adjustment.
A crucial point for Minister Chinamasa, which does not require the Exchequer to “break a sweat” but which is crucial to maintain a level of confidence in the economy, is to assure the nation and the investor community that the country would continue using multiple foreign currencies for the foreseeable future. After all he was in charge, although in an acting capacity, when the use of foreign currencies was introduced in 2009.
Uncertainty on the direction that the new Zanu-PF government would take on the currency front is eating the already shaky investor confidence.
Industry, which is capital thirsty, would also be looking up to the Ministry to come up with measures to improve the liquidity situation which has seen it operating in the danger zone and failing to boost capacity utilisation.
Together with his new Industry and Commerce counterpart (Cde Mike Bimha), Minister Chinamasa is expected to come up with supporting mechanisms which will help the Zanu-PF government to create the much needed employment.
In its election manifesto, Zanu-PF said it was targeting to create over two million jobs. While these jobs would be created across all sectors of the economy, it is largely availability of Finance which is going to spur the revival and growth.
Injection of fresh capital is not only necessary but is a prerequisite for the economy to even attain the revised 3,4 percent growth rate for this year.
To unlock the gridlock of fresh capital would also be the need to forge ahead with plans which former Finance Minister Tendai Biti had already been put in motion to address the country’s ballooning debt of over $10 billion.
The new Minister has plenty of work to do to plug revenue loopholes and corruption which has seen the Government losing millions through nefarious activities in sectors such as mining, manufacturing and others.
An improvement in capacity utilisation, which has dropped to less than 50 percent, could inspire hope not only for the unemployed but for the majority of workers whose jobs are currently hanging by the thread.
Policy alignment and consistency would be critical given the scepticism with which some foreign investors are looking at developments in the country and it would be in the best interest of the Ministers to inspire hope and confidence.
For too long investors have adopted the “wait and see” attitude as they do not want regret investing in the economy.
Working together with the Indigenisation Ministry, the Cabinet has to set the record straight with all the doubting Thomases.
The new Government should not bother formulating new economic blueprints but implement existing ones, some of which were drawn up during the inclusive Government and before.
One major priority for the Minister of Industry, Cde Bimha, would be operationalising the Ziscosteel/Essar deal, a multi-million dollar transaction which has remained in limbo for long yet it stands to benefit the economy as a whole and the Redcliff Town in particular.
The deal, whose handling has been less than inspiring for a country in dire need of foreign investment, needs to be finalised as soon as the new Minister Cde Bimha steps into office.
A host of variables are stacked against the Zanu PF government turning around the economy with sanctions remaining one of them.
The ability to overcome the obstacles is what will make a difference as the hope for a better future for the country and workforce will rest in the hands of the two Ministers, whose seats could best be described as “furnace hot”.
A number of names were bandied around, with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono, former Defence Minister Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, former Finance Ministers Herbert Murerwa and Tendai Biti, as well as former Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa being tipped to hold the country’s purse.
Finally the President has made his choice and settled for Minister Chinamasa, the man who was in charge when Government came up with the use of foreign multiple currencies in the economy, which proved a masterstroke as it provided some stability to a sanctions-battered economy.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, former Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Mike Bimha and former Mines Minister Obert Mpofu were being touted as potential candidates to lead the Industry Ministry. As is now publicly known, the baton was given to Minister Bimha. — New Ziana/Chronicle Reporter
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