The Sunday Mail
“The journey of economic transformation, which began in 2018, requires us to deploy resources and effort in areas where the country has comparative advantage. Such a bold move invariably requires hard work, determination, self-belief and discipline, complemented by a shared vision by all, irrespective of background and beliefs.
‘‘In conceiving this objective, the Second Republic created a foundation which, as Mahatma Gandhi aptly said, ‘The future depends on what you do today’, the support of all stakeholders, enables us to achieve the Zimbabwe we want as espoused by Vision 2030.
“With ‘a little more persistence, a little more effort and what seemed hopeless failure will turn to glorious success’ (Elbert Hubbard). As we implement this 2023 National Budget, we seek everyone’s support so that together we can accelerate economic transformation already underway.”
These were the words from Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube as he concluded his budget presentation a few weeks ago. Quite instructive as we move into 2023.
My instalment last week dealt with this year in retrospect. Conversely, this one looks at the upcoming year. It is often prudent to look back while, at once, looking forward to get the ultimate perspective.
The issues we have at hand are quite evident. We are on a growth path, we have ridden the tide and conquered some headwinds. We have proven our pedigree in significant ways.
But, we also have compelling issues to address, consolidate and secure. These will form the primary focus of this submission.
Every new year brings with it renewed hope, bolder aspirations and keener desires. In doing so, we must not forget that this is on our collective plate.
So then, what do we look forward to in 2023? What are the areas of focus? What are the low-hanging fruits? What are the areas we need to focus on as we are impelled in our developmental and growth objectives? How do we attain them as a people?
We look forward to food security, that basic of human needs. This year’s drought negated this in profound ways. Hopefully, the rains will be much better. But we also need to elevate our irrigation systems so that we are not entirely dependent on weather patterns, increasingly getting precarious themselves.
We need to deploy systems and strategies to increase yield per hectare for various crops. Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, in the 37th Cabinet briefing this last Tuesday, revealed some very encouraging statistics, with hectares under crops such as maize, sorghum and wheat increasing by over 300 percent in most cases. This is very positive news.
The Government announced that it will be providing food to vulnerable rural communities as protection measures, as we move on.
Covid-19 has subsided and is presently not the threat it was. It does not license us to get our guard down as its spectre still lingers. This coming year, we take stringent measures to preclude all health threats. There is also anticipation of increasing traction on the health front. We have made notable progress but we still need to see greater investments in our medical facilities. Drugs, equipment and human capital needs beckon further attention, such that should one seek help at any one of the facilities, it is readily available.
Our health system had become dilapidated,with medical staff being inadequate or demotivated. We have come from a tortured past. Gladly, progress is being made and must be consolidated.
It is heart-rending when lives are needlessly lost.
Power generating capacities need to be urgently addressed. The bitter power outages have rendered the populace hopeless and despairing. There is need to expedite remedial and other intervention measures.
Productivity, domestic and other social issues are negated in indescribable ways. These issues are not intractable. We take comfort that the Government is seized with decisively dealing with the power issue. The populace looks forward to more reliable power provision in the coming year, as would only be natural.
There is also prevalent expectation that inflation continues on a downward trajectory, which we attained in the last quarter, quite substantially. Monetary and fiscal authorities are expected to keep figures on the pulse, such that the runaway inflation we experienced earlier this year does not recur. Inflation is always the elephant in the room. Worse still, it affects literally every facet of business.
We expect the central bank to continue reigning in money supply, using the various instruments at its disposal, including prudent manipulation of interest rates.
In the same vein, we look forward to a stable currency and the continued watch on Government spending.
In relatively volatile economic environments, consumer spend and confidence are hugely negated, spawning diminished demand, itself the antithesis of a vibrant and growing economy.
We have internal factors that affect our progression as much as we have external ones. Every country is subject to external shocks. Consider the Russia-Ukraine war. It disrupted supply chains in a massive way. In addition, it affected fuel prices.
This is one specific area that has ripple effects on some economic fundamentals. Not everything is within our control.
But we also work on the factors within control, those we can impact on. Sanctions have always been a sore point. It is a difficult proposition to deny a country lines of credit. It is yet another to prevent trading among nations. It is worsened when corporates cannot transact internationally.
But our resolve should not be diminished,instead we should keep our hopes alive in achieving the Zimbabwe we want.
We move on resiliently as we have always done, while also ensuring that we dogmatically pursue our international engagement and re-engagement ethos.
We take local and home town initiatives to resolve domestic challenges, be they power generating ones, inflation and currency volatility. These have always been on our plate.
We reassert ourselves. We take initiatives to address them. We conceive even more home-grown solutions. In addition, we export more, we do import substitution and amplify the Buy Zimbabwe campaign. We pursue the Brand Zimbabwe initiative.
Our education system is now more responsive to industry and commercial needs. We expect to see even greater progression, with 5.0. Innovation hubs are capacitated and financed, resulting in even more patents.
We disabuse the notion of seeking employment but rather see people being masters of their destiny, running their own enterprises, being employers themselves, contributing not just to the fiscus but also to developmental aspirations.
Inclusive growth is an ideal and prudent concept. It is also a rational one. No populace can ever alter its circumstances without the involvement of the larger populace. That is why we feel the Government’s mantra of leaving no one behind is well- conceived and crafted. We would be keen to see that continue in the next year.
So then, we look forward to the coming year with high hopes, expectations and deliverables. We have much to do and it is within our capacities to do so.
It is also an election year as well. We have a global reputation of being a peaceful nation. May this subsist during the period. We make them peaceful and credible, consistent with our persona.
We address all economic fundamentals. People expect to see us transform at an even greater pace. We will, for as long as we put all hands on deck.
In God I Trust!
Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.
