The year of our Lord 2015

28 Dec, 2014 - 00:12 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

We need to raise productivity to optimal levels in order for us to “accelerate” Zim-Asset implementation. While Edwin Mundingi said I should write about bond coins and give a case study, Diana Phiri said I should mark the end of the year by writing a message of hope and Oswald Rubaba said I should comment on Zimbabwe’s achievements to date this year.

This is the feedback I got from the readers whom I had asked on what I should write about to mark my last article before the curtain comes down on 2014.

The year 2014 will surely be gone this week ushering in the Year of the Goat, according to the Chinese Zodiac and after the month of the goat (Mbudzi).

I also know that there has been, and still is a “carnage” of goats in the countryside this festive, as folks celebrate Zvita (thanksgiving).

It is all happy days, with the 31st bringing the final showdown.

Those who engage the festivities into overdrive, by expending prodigally, will unfortunately soon be “admitted” for the “January disease.”

The good thing about the New Year, however, is that it always brings those great expectations and fresh perspectives. It is naturally that time of the year whereby many are inclined to take a moment to look in retrospect, before they reflect on what the new year should be like.

To those who have incurred a rough 2014, the new year ushers in that “phoenix encounter” for them to burn their old selves into fine ashes before rising anew from the very ashes into the ideal persons they aspire to be.

We all want the best and nobody settles for less.

Looking at the succeeding year of our Lord or Anno Domino or simply AD 2015, I want to hope that the Almighty will ratify all the things we have assumed in our plans, things that only Him has control over.

Take the assumption in the national budget, for instance, that we will have good rains; in line with that prayer line in our national anthem which goes as follows: “Let rain abound and fields yield the seed.”

We can only rely on God to fulfil that, eventually. We are also assuming that we will have life and a truckload of other stuff whose achievement will be by the will of the Almighty.

The preamble of our constitution reads in part that “acknowledging the supremacy of Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies… imploring the guidance and support of the Almighty God.”

When God does His part in 2015, we must also do ours with zest. If you don’t work the fields when the rains have fallen, you can’t expect food on your table. Working hard should be the motto of 2015. It is so sad that many in the country have reduced themselves to thieves, scammers, prostitutes and other corrupt deeds, albeit having the alternative of working hard and earning an honest living.

Government has already set the tone for hard work in 2015 through the recent approval by Cabinet of the reforms to the country’s labour laws that will result in productivity linked remuneration.

We need a labour law system that promotes hard work. Many civil servants actually boast of getting paid for doing nothing, simply because their duties and responsibilities cannot be measured with respect to productivity.

Some work as if they are on a go slow or are just doing Government a favour. The process you have to go through to access something from Government departments is frustrating, thanks to the human resources whose salary is being paid by taxpayers.

Many Government departments are responsible for dealing with foreign investment matters and these include the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Registrar of Companies, Environmental Management Authority and Zimbabwe Investment Authority.

The impression that the foreign investors get when going through the different processes at these agencies contributes heavily to their final decision about investing in Zimbabwe. If the officers manning these important agencies know that there is nobody weighing their productivity, they will continue with their lackadaisical tendencies – taking breaks every now and then, going for lunch at 11am and coming back at 3pm.

Government is the loser on the day of reckoning.

Many civil servants are just abusing the “privilege” of getting remunerated for doing something nobody knows, much to the detriment of the economy.

I am sure it is part of why we are ranked badly on the world indexes such as Doing Business Report.

Our processes tend to be long and bureaucratic because work is not measured and important documents can just sit on someone’s desk until they gather dust. Who cares, so long that someone will still get paid and even get a bonus.

Civil servants are the drivers of Zim-Asset. We need to raise productivity to optimal levels in order for us to “accelerate” Zim-Asset implementation.

The economic growth rates we are posting are far much below the 8 percent that we ought to be posting for the next decade, if we are to foster sustainable socioeconomic transformation.

We therefore need to start the revolution of measuring tasks and remunerating according to the attainment of such.

This will also bring the much needed competitiveness that is presently absent in this economy.

A Standing Cabinet Committee created to deal with price and cost drivers has already cited labour as one of the key cost drivers which should be dealt with.

Productivity based remuneration will also result in a competitive private sector. It is only those who want to reap where they have not sown who would try to find excuses to condemn productivity based remuneration.

You cannot have an unrealistic wage rate that is arrived at without looking at the ability of the company to pay.

Obviously that company will collapse.

Sadly, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union sees no sense in this idea of linking remuneration to productivity.

They say it is giving employers the passport to fire, but surely no employer would want to fire an employee when he is needed to produce.

We all know that labour has derived demand, thus if demand for goods is increasing, then demand for labour follows suit. Business really needs to optimize human resources in line with business cycles.

A company that is operating at 100 percent capacity utilisation and employing 1 000 workers can surely not be expected to keep the same workforce if capacity is to fall down to 10 percent and remain competitive or operating. Or can it? But really there is nothing to be afraid of here – making it easy to dismiss employees is also making it easy to hire more employees as employers will be assured that they won’t have to go through hell when they want to rationalize in line with business conditions.

ZCTU’s argument that labour flexibility will automatically result in retrenchment is therefore biased, selfish and looking at one side of the coin – which is looking at it in the context of an economy in recession. The flip side of the coin is rather otherwise.

We have reached that point whereby productivity based remuneration is inevitable in the country, and there should be no debate about it.

What organised labour should really be lobbying for is how to achieve the best out of labour flexibility.

For instance, they should be lobbying for labour flexibility that comes with the establishment of an unemployment creation fund and for legislation that compels employers to provide continuous training to their employees.

The unemployment fund can be contributed to by both employee and employer and those who lose their jobs can benefit from it for a period of time while looking for another job.

Since they would have benefited from continuous training, finding another job will not be difficult.

This is how it ought to be, as opposed to trying to lobby for the practice of voodoo economics. I promise to touch on the pointers given by Edwin, Diana and Oswald in my future pieces.

Ngaritange ranatsopera gore racho. For now, the message I want to emphasise as we are about to crossover to 2015 is hard work and of course to be a nation that saves and invest in productive portfolios, especially at household levels.

Individual loans top in the loans that have been issued out by banks so far in 2014.

But look at what people are buying with that money – groceries, latest cellphone models, and other funny stuff.

Instead of buying a personal car that would incur running expenses at every kick of ignition, it would be prudent to buy a small second hand machinery from Europe or the Far East to start some small business and generate income sustainably. At the rate at which individuals are getting bank loans, we really should be having a thriving SMEs sector to show for it.

May the Almighty God guide and protect you as you enter 2015. Wishing you a prosperous New Year!

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