After emerging from one of the most contentious elections in the country’s history in August 2023, many thought the ruling Zanu PF’s continued hold onto power would be followed by meaningful socio-economic transformation.
Sadly, we have seen a significant fall in ordinary citizens’ lives as the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen, while a clique of obscenely-rich, politically-connected individuals, claiming entitlement to government tenders has emerged, further widening the rich-poor divide.
In a country where guaranteeing equal opportunities remains one the biggest quests, we have seen corruption — which has been institutionalised over the years — becoming more entrenched, worsening inequality.
Tension, real or imagined, in the cockpit of Zimbabwe’s political power has not helped matters except as a painful reminder of the factional wars that ravaged Zanu PF towards the end of the late Robert Mugabe’s long reign.
Instead of prioritising bread-and-butter issues, loyalists in one of the Zanu PF factions are pushing for an unconstitutional bid to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term beyond 2028, a clear diversion from the real crises gripping the nation.
Top Zanu PF officials have not learnt from the past. With Mnangagwa publicly declaring he will leave office at the end of his constitutionally-mandated second term in 2028, some of his loyalists are pushing to have him remain in office until 2030, but there has been stiff resistance from a rival camp allegedly bidding for Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
Addressing an interactive session with editors last month, the President reiterated that he will leave office in 2028.
He said: “I have my two terms and when the time comes, the country and the party will move on by electing my successor. I have said clearly that I have two-terms and these two-terms are definite. And I am so democratic and when they come to an end, I will step aside and my party will elect my successor that is as clear as day.”
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As this skulduggery and political scheming is taking place, uncertainty in the country is growing, costing the country dearly along the way.
Many have suggested that the President should take his address to the nation, arguing this is the rightful thing to do. Keeping the nation in the dark, they argued, is hideous and bad for the economy which is on the brink. Everything points to the fact that there is real work that needs to be done to revive the ailing economy.
Deterioration registered in the health care sector over the last two decades has been phenomenal.
Access to quality healthcare that can only be accessed in private hospitals and abroad has remained a preserve of the rich few, while the majority are confined to public facilities, which lack drugs, equipment and proper care.
On the economic front, things could not have been worse with 1 000 jobs lost in the past couple of months as Choppies, N Richards and OK Zimbabwe closed some of their branches. More job losses are looming as companies struggle for survival.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers has cited exchange rate volatility, foreign currency shortages and high operational costs among other challenges bedevilling the sector. Informal traders — the bulk of whom smuggle goods into the country avoiding payment of duty at ports of entry — have taken away the bigger chunk of the market from formal traders. It is the formal traders who pay tax, benefitting the fiscus, but unfortunately, have to struggle to remain operational.
The lack of manufacturing capability has exposed businesses, including those in the retail sector to vulnerabilities, especially given that they struggle to source foreign currency for imports.
Instead of fighting, authorities must look at the challenges in the economy with the view to taking corrective measures. The country’s monetary system has been one of the major issues that have haunted Zimbabwe for decades as shown by the currency changes after the turn of the millennium.
The monumental crash of bearer cheques during the hyperinflationary period between 2008 and 2009, following hard on the heels of another experiment with agro-cheques, remains testimony of the depth of the abyss Zimbabwe’s economy had fallen into.
Harry Peter Wilson, founder of the Democratic Official Party and one of the presidential candidates in the August 2023 elections, contends that Zimbabwe’s newest currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), came at the wrong time, saying that the government must have left the economy to grow.
Again, the Bulawayo-based politician argued, the changes in currency led to Zimbabweans losing confidence in the interventions authorities may come up with.
“Over the past two decades, Zimbabwe has experimented with new currencies too many times, and this loss of confidence is inevitable, especially after citizens lost their savings around 2008-2009,” Wilson said.
“Authorities keep giving citizens the same narrative, as we are going through processes we have seen before.
“Monetary authorities devalued the ZiG by about 43% in September 2024, only six months after its introduction on April 5 of the same year. Yes, we would want a Zimbabwean solution to this currency stability issue, but it seems to lie deeper than the surface we continue scratching.
“Firstly, it begins with the banking system, which does not encourage people to save because of punitive charges.
“The government does not seem to accept ideas from outside and as opposition, we are always reminded that we are not in government. We, however, remain positive about the future, hoping for currency stability in our peaceful country.”
The authorities know what is wrong. The current state of things is a result of the government’s failure to foster an operational industrial base and it is imperative that corrective measures be adopted — NOW!
