By Pearson Mbendera.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News Of The South) – When the Reserve Bank Governor Dr. John Mangudya first introduced the idea of curbing the growing liquidity crisis by means of introducing bond notes, he hinted on the growing concern of the nation consuming more than it is producing, but less has been done on cutting expenditure. But is it because this high expenditure is necessary, or is it because it is directed to facilitate entitled individuals and cost centres.
The huge public spending has been brought about by a massive sense of entitlement, the kind that has bled the country dry, and yet it still persist, despite the fact that government appears to be broke.
Expensive vehicles, travel and housing benefits, from whose pockets?The government’s? Don’t those funds belong to the public? Not a very long time ago, the second Vice President was living in a hotel, because the expensive house provided for by the government wasn’t lavish enough. Talk about living like royals. In this economy, is that even possible?
The Finance Minister Hon. Patrick Chinamasa has time and time again hinted on the need for the government to introduce some austerity measures, but all his efforts have been shutdown, because unfortunately, cutting down on spending is somewhat an unpopular move especially when there is reelection at stake in two years time. But how then do we cut the ever growing public expenditure when we are not prepared to make some tough cuts, be it employment or in salaries and benefits?
The government has been bleeding money in many ways, only because some people are entitled to certain benefits, the kind of benefits that surely cannot be sustained by our economy. How can some people still be entitled to a massive chunk of the shrinking national cake when everyone else is feeling the pinch of a dying economy?
But in a crippled economy like ours, is overspending the best way to go? Imagine what all that money, could do, should it be used some other way? And how do those people, after being given what they are entitled to, spend that money? Does it help improve the economy, or does it get lost somewhere, or is it spent beyond our nation’s boarders where it gives no economic return to Zimbabwe? These are just some of the questions surrounding our spending policies.
Granted we do not expect our government officials to be living in poverty, but could they live a little less flashy, have less than they have and ultimately earn less than what they earn today?
With the government failing to pay its employees in time, the suspension of bonuses by the Finance Minister was overruled. But can someone really tell me that civil servants, working for the broke government of ZIMBABWE are really entitled to that 13th cheque? I do not want to go on and talk about some of their work ethic.
Since the land reform, government has been assisting the farmers with various inputs ranging from maize seed to tractors, and even the diesel that ran those tractors, but up to now, the same farmers, or most of them anyway, still cry to the government for assistance, despite the fact that there hasn’t been enough agricultural produce coming from our farms to sustain the needs of our nation. So surely all the efforts to empower the said farmers hasn’t worked well for the nation, that has turned from being the breadbasket of Africa to being the basket case.
The problem of entitlement has become somewhat systemic. From the government officials who believe that the state has to pay for their lavish lifestyles, to members of the opposition who just get voted into parliament without campaigning a single day because they represent areas where the opposition is greatly favoured, to farmers who believe that it is the government’s job to assist them with inputs every year, and the civil servants who get their bonuses when not so many employed Zimbabweans (the FEW that are employed anyway) aren’t even getting theirs.
Think of the money that was spent on presidential scholarships, sending students to study in South Africa for the very same education offered by our state universities. Think of all the funds spent on vehicles for government officials and all the costs related to maintaining those vehicles. Think of the salaries and benefits of members of staff of certain ministries that could have been joined together to form one ministry. Think of the funds that we spent in splitting the Attorney General’s office into two. Were all these expenditure necessary, or was it a move to ensure that some people gain access to government benefits, because well, they are entitled to? Who cares if they deserve it or not? Isn’t this the same as corruption? Or does it change because it is somewhat legal and has all the correct paperwork, some of which provided for in the constitution of Zimbabwe.
And its not just about public spending, this case of entitlement has even affected our economic policies. In a bid to resuscitate the dying economy, the government has established various policies meant to restrict cheap imports because our local industry is failing to produce competitively, in a way that has seen imported goods, having incurred importation costs and transportation, they are still cheaper than locally manufactured products. But who really cares the final consumer doesn’t have enough money to buy those expensive local products? What incentive does that give to the local manufacturer to improve his production methods when the government will force the consumers into buying the expensive products by chasing away the competition. Isn’t competition healthy, or did I read the wrong Economics textbooks? And how will the compete outside our country, in a way that will encourage exports when they are too expensive locally?
One of my favourite TV characters, Frank Underwood once said, “You are entitled to nothing. Want it? Earn it.” This seems to have been directed to Zimbabwe. Because in reality, this sense of entitlement, is nothing short of being corrupt. I really don’t have the answers, but I’ll ask you this, how will our economy be if we do away with all these entitlements in every respect? I don’t expect you to answer, after all, I’m not entitled to a response.
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