The Sunday Mail
Dr. Masimba Mavaza
Zimbabweans of all ages are being sold a dummy by the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
The opposition has blamed the economic downturn on ZANU PF.
Their campaign message has been that ZANU PF has fronted corrupt cadres and is destroying the future of the youth.
The youth are being told that they are not employed because ZANU PF has mishandled the economy.
The opposition, in particular Nelson Chamisa, has told his supporters at rallies that if he is given a chance to govern Zimbabwe, he will develop the country in three months.
He told his supporters he will have white people rushing back to develop Zimbabwe’s economy.
This, Chamisa said, will only be possible if he is elected President of Zimbabwe.
The youth and Zimbabweans at large must accept reality: Our economy cannot be developed in three days.
We must realise that since the New Dispensation came into office, its most cherished wish and desire, for which President Mnangagwa and his team laboured with vigour and passion unceasingly, with firm determination, is to raise the standard of living of all Zimbabweans and create jobs.
This is what drives the President who has set the country on a course of transformation into an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
This target is indeed a possibility.
Every day, Zimbabweans are seeing this goal coming to fruition with great satisfaction.
We must all realise that development is a process.
This can be seen through the work being undertaken by the New Dispensation.
We must be guided by the Chinese history of economic growth.
Chinese development was not an overnight event. And, like the Chinese, the President is saying as Zimbabweans it is our duty to build our own nation.
Sanctions will not deter our resilience and fighting spirit.
Brick by brick we are building Zimbabwe.
People must not be fooled by the rhetoric coming from the CCC, whose promise is that the West will come with money and build our country.
This party has no plan and wants to take over with no clear ideas.
We must be comforted by the fact that we are already food secure as a result of the dams that have or are being constructed and the ongoing empowerment of farmers.
President ED’s administration has introduced smart agriculture and has also given inputs and livestock to capable farmers to revamp the sector.
Clearly, Zimbabwe is under new management which is driving an aggressive economic recovery programme.
Economic recovery follows a period of recession.
Normally, during an economic recovery, gross domestic product (GDP) grows, incomes rise and unemployment falls as the economy rebounds.
Only this month, the civil service has employed thousands of teachers and nurses.
The army has recruited and still recruiting.
The police and other security organisations have employed thousands of youths.
It must be understood that during an economic recovery, the economy undergoes a process of adaptation and adjustment to new conditions. This involves addressing the factors that triggered the recession in the first place and the adoption of new policies in response to the recession.
As a result, things were tough during the first two years of the new dispensation.
But it was only when things get tough that the tough get going.
The labour, capital goods and other productive resources that were tied up in businesses that failed and went under during the recession are being re-employed in new activities as unemployed workers find new jobs and failed firms are bought up.
Recovery is an economy healing itself from damage, and it sets the stage for growth and expansion.
Expansion is the phase of the business cycle where the real gross domestic product (GDP) grows for two or more consecutive quarters, moving from a trough to a peak.
Expansion is typically accompanied by a rise in employment and consumer confidence.
This phase lasts, on average, for about four to five years, but can go up to more than a decade. Focusing on interest rates and capital expenditure can help investors determine where we are in the business cycle.
Zimbabwe has had only three years of changing everything ranging from the economy to education and at the same time maintaining law and order.
Remember, all this is being done under the regime of unlawful sanctions.
Zimbabweans must not be fooled.
Development is not miracle money; it is a process.
Whoever promises overnight change is lying.
We must realise that economic recovery is the process of reallocating resources and workers from failed businesses and investments to new jobs and uses after a recession or economic downfall.
An economic recovery follows after the recession and leads to a new expansionary business cycle phase.
Leading indicators such as the stock market, retail sales and the establishment of new businesses often become apparent ahead of an economic recovery.
During an economic recovery, central banks may enact monetary policies aimed at increasing the money supply and encouraging lending. Over the past three years, ZANU PF has successfully set the economy on the recovery stage.
President ED is a mature person and will not promise miracles but he will ask you to gird your loins and fight.
Economic recovery is a war we must all fight. It is not fought by changing governments. It is fought and won by supporting the government.
This is why we should vote ZANU PF and continue with the great transformation of our country.
We must always remember that the process of recovery has ups and downs.
Zimbabweans need a mindset change and desist from looking to the West for help.
Zambia changed presidents but there are no investors flocking into the country.
Tanzania changed presidents but there are no white men rushing in with wads of cash.
Chamisa’s promises are fake.
In fact, he does not understand the development that has been ushered in by ZANU PF.
He sees them as failures.
The coming elections should test our foresight as a nation.
As we make a decision on who to vote for, we must remember that President ED is Number One.
This is the time for the youth to learn the truth. There will never be a miracle recovery.
ZANU PF has set the economy of the course to recovery.
If you want to be employed, allow President ED to finish what he started.
Vote ZANU PF and help Zimbabwe reclaim its bread-basket status.
Zimbabwe is the only country that we can call ours.
Iwe neni tine basa!
Dr Masimba Mavaza is a law lecturer and former prosecutor in Zimbabwe. He has lectured at the Zimbabwe Republic Police Staff College.
