Comrades the Zimbabwean economy remains characterised by huge budget deficits, a growing debt stock, and a declining economy which negatively impacts on citizens` livelihoods. 2018 statistics from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development as well as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe indicate serious economic and debt crises.

The country’s budget deficit is US$1.3 Billion dollars, the Current Account deficit is US$1.5 Billion dollars. Compounding this macroeconomic instability is the growing DEBT stock. Domestic Debt is at a staggering US$9.5 Billion dollars, External DEBT is US$7.4 Billion dollars  which amounts to a  total national DEBT of US$16.9 Billion dollars.

Comrades the economic mess does not end here, we have a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Overdraft of US$2.3 Billion dollars which is way above the Statutory limit of US$762, 8 million dollars. To make matters worse, Cumulative Treasury Bill Issuance stands at US$7.6 Billion dollars. Speaking of the toxic Treasury Bills comrades, The Treasury Bills to Gross Domestic Product Ratio is 36.5% and inflation is 4.9 %. Surely the motherland`s economy is in a recession fast tracking itself toward a depression. The economy is refusing to yield to the fake nationalists in Zanu and unlike the July 30 election, this economy is refusing to be rigged.

But we warned these people comrades. We told them that the economy has got its own way of fighting back, of exposing the fake and the uninitiated. We told them to conduct a free, fair, transparent and verifiable election and the masses of our people will have the chance to choose a leadership with the craft competence, the care and the vision to tackle the present challenges. Presently one senses fatigue amongst the class of 2018, indifference, deflation and a sense of structural illiteracy.

Coming back to the DEBT crisis comrades. We continue to call for the unconditional cancellation of Zimbabwe`s debt as a prerequisite in any attempt to resuscitate development in the country.

As long as the issue of DEBT cancellation is not addressed, Zimbabwe`s so called economic recovery plan (T.S.P, Vision 2030 or whatever cosy name they call it) will become a pipe dream if not a perpetual nightmare.

As long as the issue of DEBT cancellation is not adequately addressed, any economic endeavours will be futile because the DEBT burden is the biggest stumbling block to the country’s development and that of the entire African continent.

DEBT is a tool of political control since the lender can dictate conditionalities so there is no way we can take charge of our own destinies when in fact our chronic INDEBTEDNESS surrenders over our future to boardrooms in Washington, Paris, Brussels, London and other imperialist capitals.

Instead of the neo-liberal menu that government is so foolishly bent on pursuing, we submit that what is needed is a shift towards participatory economic models (a democratic developmental state) and a willingness to introduce wide-ranging redistributive mechanisms.

This would involve a developmental state, progressive taxation, a war on corporate sector/elite tax evasion, collective and State ownership of strategic resources and the equitable distribution of land and access to services,,,

This alone will rescue this country from both the DEBT burden and the present economic quagmire,,, Failure to take heed to this advice will be a serious provocation to the DEBT choked Zimbabweans. However, the masses of our people will never accept to live under DEBT and economic-governance forever. After all, it is the duty of the oppressed to revolt.

Zimbabwe`s Growing DEBT Crisis: A Developmental State Hindrance

In the hot and dry area of Nyamuzuwe, Mutoko rural, people from all walks of life (women, youth, men and traditional leaders), are furious as they fail to find answers to ‘who owns the black granite in their village?’, a place which they call their own. The villagers expressed their gross bitterness as they narrated how, since 1972, the God-given black granite natural resource has been unsustainably extracted from mother earth by foreigners without the ‘Bujas’ benefitting in any way. For the Mutoko inhabitants, the surrounding mountains endowed with massive deposits of black granite, are a symbol of their own heritage and pride.

These sentiments of bitterness were expressed during the inaugural District Alternative Mining Indaba (DAMI) to be held in rural Mutoko, where the black granite is being mined. The DAMI was held on the 2nd of October 2018 and attracted more than 350 villagers from 5 wards in Nyamuziwa. The Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) in collaboration with the Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG) and Shine Faith Based Trust of Mutoko, held the DAMI pursuing the following objectives:

o To consolidate a resilient national extractives movement that responds to the sector’s challenges and engage duty bearers; and
o To create platforms for mining community to coalesce and discuss the impacts of the extractives on their livelihoods.

The Mutoko District Alternative Mining Indaba (DAMI) provided, for the first time, an organic platform for the Bujas to come together on a common cause to discuss, home-grown solutions to the curse of the black-granite in their area. An inclusive profile of villagers (women, youth, physically challenged and men) were actively participating throughout the various issues that were being interrogated, until a traditional figure, Headman Oscar Nyakabau, complemented that, “Hatisati takamboungana kuno kwaNyamuzuwe nenzira yakadai, pahukama hwedu, tichikurukurirana nhuna dzanetsamumusha, dzemakomo edu aparadzwa nevabvakure isu vane rukuvhute ruri mumakomo iwayo pasina kana chatawana”. The Bujas had a feel of owning the whole DAMI process.

Gender Relevance:
The negative impacts of extractivism impact men and women differently as women suffer the most due to their gender roles. The DAMI witnessed widowed women who lost their husbands due to work-place accidents in black granite mining. The widows did not receive any form of compensation from the miners and they continue to suffer the brunt of extractivism in the area. Amongst other issues affecting women are human rights violations, farm land dispossession, relocations and loss of landscape. It is therefore critical for mining communities (men and women) to convene in their localities in order to deliberate on issues affecting them and craft home-grown solutions to these predicaments.

The Bujas are bitter about:
o Not finding answers to the frequently asked question, ‘Whose mountain is it?, as their perceived right answer, ‘the Bujas’, has proved to be wrong all the time;
o Being denied their right to make decisions concerning the mountains that surround their homes;
o The devaluation of the black-granite and loss of revenue to the community as the Mutoko RDC receives a meagre USD$1/tonne.
o Black-granite mining that has left former mine workers weak, disabled, poor, susceptible to diseases and in some instances dead, due to the brutal nature with which the resource is being extracted;
o Mutoko villagers being engaged on manual and low-paid jobs at the mines whilst foreigners earn more for less exhaustive labour;
o Rampant child pregnancies in the area as foreigners impregnate school pupils;
o Reduced water tables and subsequent drying of rivers due to black-granite mining blasting that widens underground fissures;
o The undeveloped area of Nyamuzuwe that makes life in the area very expensive, especially transport, as motorists inflate fares to remedy wear and tear for their vehicles;
o The destruction of infrastructure and private property due to black-granite mining;
o The Chinese back-granite mining companies not remitting any taxes to Mutoko RDC since they started mining; and
o A cabal of Zimbabwean politicians conniving with black granite miners to siphon the natural resource (black-granite) out of Mutoko without any benefits for the community.
One would be forgiven to paint the Bujas’ case as gloomy. Far from it, the Bujas are brave, focused and determined to ensure that ‘Talk Shows’ are a thing of the past in Mutoko.

Challenges:

– As enthusiastic as they were, the participants realised that they lived in an environment that is politically volatile when some so called political dignitaries stormed into the community hall, where the DAMI was being held, and requested to greet the villagers for two minutes, which surprisingly became a campaign message for about ten minutes. However, it was clear that the Bujas are tired of being used for political gain by politicians without benefiting in any way whatsoever. They expressed their anger to the political activists by booing until the campaign message was abruptly ended, to the relief of the participants.

Conclusion
The levels of poverty in Mutoko are a clear indication of what the Left calls the resource curse. The resource curse, also known as the paradox of plenty, refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources (like fossil fuels and certain minerals), tend to have less economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources. As a pro-poor social justice activist movement, ZIMCODD will restlessly continue to execute the struggle for sustainable mining and pro-poor human development especially for mining communities such as Mutoko.

Our Mountains Our Heritage?

In Zimbabwean government circles and political parties’ programmes/manifestos there is very little attention if any that is placed on the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the opportunities and risks it presents to this country. 

The 4th Industrial Revolution is characterized by the fusion of the digital, biological and physical worlds as well as the growing utilization of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, The Internet of Things and advanced wireless technologies among others. In fact, the Africa Development Bank has stated clearly that the 4IR has ushered in a new era of economic disruption with uncertain consequences for the African continent. These key features of the 4IR have obvious and important implications on education, employment, and the future of work. This is especially true for African countries. Over the past decade, the share of the continent’s under-20 population has expanded by more than 25%, and is projected to be the continent’s largest age cohort by 2070. As Africa meets the 4IR, its youth will be one of its most important assets. This is why it is important that we in Zimbabwe have a serious conversation around the 4IR and how it can help transform our socio-economic fortunes and aspirations. 

To be able to capture this demographic dividend, African countries must overhaul their education systems to prepare for the coming technological revolution. While automation could increase skills premiums and exacerbate income inequality, it could also increase productivity and create new occupations. As such, the 4IR represents a unique opportunity for African countries to leapfrog over development hurdles with the help of technology. 

The Growth in Mobile Accounts 

Africa had nearly half of global mobile accounts in 2018 and will see the fastest growth in mobile money through 2025. However, our continent still lags behind both developed and other developing countries in several indicators essential for the 4IR especially in infrastructure, technology access and education. Information flow remains a key ingredient for economic growth and job creation.  

Statistics show that in Africa mobile technologies and services have generated 1.7 million direct jobs (both formal and informal), contributed to USD144 billion of economic value (8.5% of the GDP of Sub-Saharan Africa), and contributed USD15 billion to the public sector through taxation as reported by the Africa Development Bank 2020). 

It is also vital that we look at the financial figures and mobile operators in Zimbabwe. POTRAZ‘s sector performance statement for the third quarter of 2020 gave a peek into the financial results for Zimbabwe’s Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Internet Access Providers (IAP) and Postal and Courier operators. The standout figures in the report were for MNO revenue. Zimbabwe’s mobile operators (Econet, NetOne and Telecel) revenue increased by 194.7% in the third quarter of 2020. In the second quarter, MNOs registered ZWL$3billion but that figure was eclipsed by the ZWL$8 billion they raked in for Q3. The marked increase in revenue was coupled with an increase in operating costs. According to POTRAZ’s statement, MNOs’ operating costs increased by 23.6% from the ZWL$2.1 billion that was recorded in Q2 to ZWL$2.5 billion. However, POTRAZ’s didn’t include exchange rate losses in the statement they published. 

Other sector financials from the POTRAZ 2020 report show that Internet Access Providers (IAPs) saw a 148.6% increase in revenue recording ZWL$2.85 billion from the ZWL$1.15 billion recorded in Q2. IAPs suffered the most in operating costs recording ZWL$1.9 billion in Q3 from the ZWL$918 million in the second quarter. This is a growing sector that can hugely contribute to Zimbabwe’s 4IR policy. Comrades, Artificial Intelligence (AI), The internet of Things (IOT), and blockchain technology can enhance opportunities for data gathering and analysis for more targeted and effective poverty reduction strategies. By 2030, Africa’s potential workforce will be among the world’s largest it is therefore of importance for African governments to deliberately invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure for the 4IR. 

In our country Zimbabwe, The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), released a statement outlining the Telecoms sector’s performance in Q3 2020. One of the areas covered by the report was Zimbabwe’s internet penetration rate. According to POTRAZ active internet and data subscriptions for the third quarter were 8 726 904 in Q3 2020. This is a 5.6% increase from the 8 267 268 recorded in the second quarter. As a result, Zimbabwe’s internet penetration rate grew by 3.2% to reach 59.9% in the third quarter from the 56.7% recorded in Q2. 

On the other hand, active mobile subscriptions marginally declined by 0.1% to reach 12 783 785 from the 12 798 298 registered in the second quarter. This 0.1% decline resulted in mobile penetration rate falling to 87.7% in the period under review. Another important statistic released by POTRAZ in the report was the massive uptick in mobile internet and data traffic in the third quarter. In the second quarter, POTRAZ recorded 10 407 TB of data traffic in the country, but Q3 2020 saw a 43% increase in data traffic to 14 878TB. International bandwidth capacity usage also shot up by 16.8% to record 149 665 Mbps from the 128 173 Mbps that was recorded in Q2 of 2020. 

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has equipped society with highly potent tools and we must harness their capabilities, where possible, to win this fight. However, they cannot replace sound leadership. Leadership has emerged as a vital tool in states that have naïve technological infrastructures in healthcare and are forced to follow the eminent guiding words of Theodore Roosevelt in “doing what they can, with what they have” 

Yes, Zimbabwe in particular and Africa in general still have a massive task ahead to catch up with countries like China, Taiwan and South Korea regarding the use of Big Data, The internet of Things and the 4th Industrial Revolution. However, technological and skills transfer are some of the things that our African governments should negotiate for when they engage with these countries when signing investment and bilateral deals. This requires a different approach to leadership on the part of all African leaders in business, government and civil society. 

Featured Post

Zimbabwe`s Growing DEBT Crisis: A Developmental State Hindrance

Our Mountains Our Heritage?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities and Risks for Zimbabwe

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Featured Post

Zimbabwe`s Growing DEBT Crisis: A Developmental State Hindrance

Our Mountains Our Heritage?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities and Risks for Zimbabwe