Antonnate Mugodi.
Linda Tsungirirai Masarira, LEAD president on Thursday addressed the public in relation to the response that the LEAD party had about the press statement made by Finance Minister Honourable Mthuli Ncube.
The Finance minister is noted to have addressed the public firstly by admitting to the existence of ‘exchange rate vitality which has been translated into unsustainable levels of inflation.
He also said that the government is taking measures to stabilise the exchange rate and also that macro-economic stability is an essential component of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme which is critical for economic growth and the achievement of the goals set out in H.E’s vision 2030.
In response to that Linda Masarira went on to say:
“As is characteristic of this Government the decision to implement a holistic package of key policy measure is just a mere lip service meant to entertain the international community while at the same time keeping the general Zimbabwean populace hopeful.”
Masarira went on to say that the finance minister should be told that stating the obvious is not good economics but just cheap propaganda.
The LEAD president said the Finance Minister should lead rather than
react to economic fundamentals and should be told that he is a minister of the government and not religion.
“Since the finance minister took office Zimbabwe has been kept on its toes with high expectations that something in the region of sound economics will come up and save the nation.
“What the minister has managed to serve at our table is what can best be described as groping economics,” Masarira said.
Masarira went on to quote the saying that says the apple does not fall far from the tree as she said that the Mthulian kind of economic policies are a mirror emerge of the Mnangagwean trial and error politics.
The existing economic policies as pursued by Mthuli Ncube is unable to either explain the causes of severe economic collapses or to provide an adequate public solution to jumpstart production and employment.
Masarira said that as LEAD they are more than able to spearhead a revolution in economic thinking that will overturn the prevailing Mthulian idea that free markets would automatically provide economic stability.
“We believe that free markets have no self-balancing mechanisms that lead to economic growth and development.
“As LEAD we propose government intervention through public policies that aim to achieve full employment and price stability,” she said.
She also advocated for active policy responses by the public sector including monetary policy actions by the government to stabilize output over the business cycle.
Masarira advised the Mnangagwa regime that they should abandon fumbling economics as it failed during the Mugabe era and it keeps failing throughout Africa and the third world.
Creation of employment is the only way out as black market currency trading is easy and profitable business. Its worst impact is that it creates monopoly capitalism and cartels while at the same time plunging the poor deep into poverty.
“When you see millions of youths wondering up and down the streets doing nothing it is a sign of failing economic policies.
“Our people cannot afford basics such as sanitary wear yet Mthuli continues to sing a song of imagined hope,” she added.
Masarira said that as LEAD they support and advice government to adopt a mixed economy guided mainly by private sector but partly operated by the government.
“A proactive government should be cognizant of this fact and come up with policies that influence the trends in prices and wages.
“Banks in one country are operating on different packages which shows lack of seriousness in addressing the crisis bedevilling Zimbabwe,” the LEAD president said.
The government should ensure easy access, availability and use of the formal financial system by all members of the economy.
Masarira said that Zimbabwe does not need a currency stabilization taskforce as it is a sheer waste of tax payers’ funds as Zimbabwe already has a Financial Intelligence Unit.
“We want to make it clear that as LEAD we will not sit back and watch Minister Mthuli destroy our economy whilst taking Zimbabweans as fools with his unending monetary policies which never yield any positive results towards economic development,” she added.
There is no public confidence as the transacting public lost faith in the banking sector 15 years ago but Mthuli Ncube continues to erode public confidence in the new dispensation.
“We are in a sorry state where culprits of economic sabotage and destabilization are trying to give solutions of a crisis they created which they fuel every day,” Masarira said.
Masarira said that both the bank and Mthuli should be accountable and should inform the nation how much RTGS and Zim$ is circulating in Zimbabwe and how much USD we have in our banking system.
“Dr John Mangudya has failed to monitor money, in short he has failed his mandate as Reserve Bank Governor.
“People are losing thousands of dollars on a daily basis yet we have a governor who is incompetent and useless.
“What Mangudya needs to do is to create international linkage of accounts operated by RBZ and have real time automated deductions and payments of all exporters to curb externalization of money,” said the LEAD president.
Banks have an obligation to supply swipe machines and there should be a regulation in place that every shop must have a swipe machine on every teller in the shop.
Failure by Mangudya to govern banks has led to a lot of criminal activities by banks which are also culprits in supplying cash on the black market.
Masarira said business is not making sense as prices are changing on a daily basis as forex rates keep fluctuating and the two percent retention fee should be scrapped immediately unless employees and businesses can have tax returns every end of our financial year.
“It is not a crime to admit failure, resign and pave way for other people who have ideas and solutions on practical ways to solve the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
“We expect a serious government to facilitate inclusive pro-poor growth.
“We are going to be a thorn in Minister Mthuli Ncube until he starts serving interests of Zimbabwe ahead of the interests of Zimbabwe ahead of the interests of his former employer the world bank,” Masarira said.
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