adminTakunda Mugaga Economic Agenda
The world over, when the purse handler of an administration is appointed, the post comes with its expectations as his or her philosophy to management of public finances can be a precursor to the direction economies take. In France, the office has been used as a springboard to the Elysée Palace, in United Kingdom as well, not only Gordon Brown, but a host of other Chancellors of the Exchequer viewed it as an opportunity to relocate from Number 11 to Number 10 Downing Street.
In Greece, the former finance minister was ousted last year after the debt crisis stalked the wealth levels of citizens from Athens, surprisingly the Treasury boss of that land received more criticism than even his superior who is the president.
In Nigeria, Okonjo Iweala, the Treasury boss, is even rated more influential than her boss, Mr Goodluck Jonathan, regardless of the latter being “goodluck” with numbers when it comes to popularity ratings. It is only on Capitol Hill where holding the Treasury portfolio only helps to substantiate your junior position in government considering the chief bankers or Federal Reserve chairmen have more influence than their peers in Treasury.
Back home in Zimbabwe, the Department of Treasury stirs both emotions and nostalgia following almost five years of haggling over how the national cake was to be redistributed.
Through his brilliance as an individual, Tendai Biti popularised the office of the Finance Minister to the extent that it is no longer viewed as the same portfolio Enos Nkala assumed after independence, Bernard Chidzero, Simba Makoni and a host of other ministers who followed.
This has nothing to do with competence, but everything to do with influence and relevance given the strategic role such an office holds especially for an economy which needs to revert to its local currency, revitalise its decimated industry while at the same time continuing with its indigenisation programme without compromising on its ability to achieve sustainable development.
A number of characters will definitely cross the minds of different stakeholders and at this moment in time, the focus will be on their suitability and why they deserve mentioning if not considering inasfar as this office is concerned.
Tendai Biti
An astute politician in his own right, any room for ascendancy to his former position under this new administration will be a latent threat to his party president, Morgan Tsvangirai, who remains in the wilderness for the next five years. Biti was a very avid senior civil servant who was also thorough in his approach to the extent that it won’t be surprising that he gained kudos from President Mugabe through his personal brilliance.
However, his confrontational handling of those from outside his party will not make him an obvious darling for the Treasury job which makes him an outsider in the race. This does not necessarily imply he won’t be considered, his unsubstantiated claims of election rigging are also an obvious blow to his prospects since he will be regarded a reckless leader who can’t be entrusted even with private business of the Government.
His resistance to fund agriculture during his tenure brings bad memories to the ruling party. He argued for the need to reverse the 99-year leases in order for farming to attract funding.
Christopher Kuruneri
He is no stranger to the post as he was at the helm till Patrick Chinamasa took over, at the height of the economic meltdown. He holds the benefit of having overseen a Treasury department which was operating on autopilot hence he could not be held responsible for the failures of the economy.
An academic-cum-politician in his own right, Kuruneri courted controversy at some point when allegations of corruption were levelled against him with some believing his ill-gotten wealth was used to fund some of his projects which include the Cape Town mansion.
He was finally acquitted which makes him a prospective candidate for the post as well. Being one of the biggest winners by percentage as a legislator who hails from Mashonaland Central province, he garnered 95,27 percent of the votes in his Mt Darwin East constituency, technically making him the most popular outright politician who can land the Treasury job role if poll figures are to be used as a yardstick.
Professor Arthur Mutambara
An academic with a very convincing resume not only by an African, but even international standards, Guseni has a strong profile in engineering and mechatronics, but this will not discount his prospects of landing the job.
Having been ousted as numero uno from his smaller MDC faction, some still question whether the heavy loss of the MDC-N was more to do with his ouster or rather a case of the majority who now know the difference between MDC-T and MDC-N considering the 2008 elections came hard on the heels of the 2005 split and the electorate was still adjusting to the differences between the two parties.
He is a smart politician who knows how to manoeuvre even where a constituency doesn’t seem to exist. He has a strong appreciation of management and business language regardless of not having been a specialist in the field.
His famous Brand Zimbabwe presentation has proven to all and sundry that he can handle areas outside his professorship. After all, most of Zimbabwe’s finance ministers have never been economists by training or reading. His patriotic stance on most of the national matters, his acknowledgement that sanctions are denting the growth prospects of the economy as well as his open admiration of President Mugabe’s impeccable track record as a great statesman of Africa can only help to make him a “good” candidate for a significant post in the incoming Government, and the finance ministry is also a possibility for him.
Dr Gideon Gono
An astute banker with an impeccable trackrecord, he had exhibited both professional and political maturity when faced with challenges and foes.
He always dares exposing some corrupt tendencies by even senior politicians in Government. Gono’s tenure at the apex bank has literally come to an end with either a possibility for a one-year extension or better still ascendancy to the Treasury post.
That he is not new to Zimbabwean problems and also partaken as a de facto Treasury boss at the height of economic meltdown in Zimbabwe strengthens his prospects of landing the post.
He never hesitated to fund farming when sanctions were grinding, he closed banks which appeared too big to fail when they misbehaved and also introduced bearer cheques when the possibility of real currency was doomed. Others might feel he created enemies in his attempt to clean the mess. However, a leader is known for cleaning the mess before consolidating a philosophy.
Joe Mutizwa
One of the leading business executives in Zimbabwe, Mutizwa is popular with most influential citizens in the country even though his political totem remains opaque. He had been at the helm of arguably the largest company in Zimbabwe by both tax contribution and balance sheet – Delta Corporation.
As an economist by training, it is difficult to overlook him as he has proven it not only to analysts but also to his fellow captains of industry that he appreciates both the academic and practical nature of the business discipline.
A former RBZ economist, he learnt the SABMiller way of managing which saw him turning around Delta Corporation post-2008 following a significant erosion of their market share by informal distributors. He is a hard worker who is also professional in his conduct, which is something Africa currently misses when it comes to technocrats of that standing.
An Outsider
A technocrat who might be resident outside Zimbabwe and is not an everyday name might be considered for the Treasury post. In 2000, President Mugabe had a team of technocrats who had experience working outside Zimbabwe and these included Nkosana Moyo, Joseph Made, Tichaona Jokonya, Simba Makoni and Jonathan Moyo.
This gives a possibility that those who seem to be front-runners might not have space when it comes to the significant-cum-influential Treasury position.
Thank you and God bless you.
Christopher Takunda Mugaga is an economist and is the Head of Research for Econometer Global Capital, a regional finance and economics research firm. He can be contacted on: [email protected] or +263 772 340 353/ +263 776 266 062
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