Zim-Asset implementation on the right path

THE Government came up with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) soon after the July 2013 elections. The economic plan, introduced three months after the elections resoundingly won by Zanu-PF, runs until next year. With a thrust to achieve social equity and sustainable development based on indigenisation, empowerment and employment creation, the blueprint is based on four strategic pillars food security and nutrition; social services and poverty eradication; infrastructure and utilities and value addition and beneficiation.

Zim-Asset came into being as the economy was battling to emerge from probably its worst economic phase in history, a downturn largely caused by illegal Western sanctions which are still in place. Also, the first three years of the plan were marked by severe droughts that had a telling impact on the economy and people’s livelihoods.

Indeed the policy framework faced strong headwinds at inception.

However, an assessment of the economic plan four years on shows that commendable achievements have been scored under very difficult circumstances. Where there are none, a good foundation has been laid for the realisation of its objectives in the few years post Zim-Asset.

Agriculture is on a recovery path, benefiting not only from the plentiful rains the country received during the 2016/2017 farming season, but also because of proper planning on the part of the Government. It is because of the positive developments in that sector that the economy is projected to grow by 3,7 percent this year.

The manufacturing sector is also doing well, with capacity utilisation recovering from 34,3 percent in 2015 to 47,4 percent last year. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries projects further growth to 65 percent this year.

There is much progress in the power supply sector as work to expand generating capacity at Hwange Thermal and Kariba Hydro is going on. Independent power producers are being licensed to harness solar energy as well as establish smaller hydro plants mainly in Masvingo and Manicaland.

Mining is doing well too particularly the gold and platinum sub-sectors although diamonds are still down as well as coal.

Other important achievements have been recorded in the Government working to create an enabling environment for business to thrive, thus contribute to the success of Zim-Asset said Senior Principal Director in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Ambassador Mary Mubi yesterday.

As we report on our front page today, there have been successes with regard to Command Agriculture Programme in the food security cluster and the agro-processing value chain and improving public corporate governance standards.

“Zim-Asset has made commendable progress with most of the programmes expected to be long term. Command agriculture has gone a long way in bringing together the Government and the private sector to make sure that the country doesn’t import maize. The completion of the Tokwe Mukorsi Dam is a major achievement under Zim-Asset with more than 25 000 hectares of irrigable land expected to be utilised.”

She cited more achievements in Government efforts to re-engage the international community and the Diaspora, creation of Special Economic Zones, the introduction of electronic governance systems across Government departments.

On the re-engagement agenda, the Government has sent delegations to Europe and America to iron out differences with key stakeholders. It is in this context that the Minister of Finance, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, led a team to Lima, Peru, where an agreement was reached on how Zimbabwe could pay its debt to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Once the country manages to pay the monies required, we could receive a financial package from the two multilateral financial institutions. But we must say that the financial package may not be necessarily loans from the Bretton Woods institutions it can be from elsewhere. The benefits can also be in form of the goodwill that cordial relations the country will have with these two institutions will engender on the international stage.

The Government realised that efforts to attract investment into the economy and turn it around may not be achieved if the investment climate was encumbered by constricting laws. To correct this, the Government has, in the first quarter of this year, tabled in Parliament seven Bills relating to ease of doing business. Six more Bills with the same thrust should be brought to the House for debate in the next few months.

We are confident that all the proposed pieces of legislation would be passed into law by the second quarter of this year so that they begin to do what they are meant to do make the country an attractive investment destination.

We therefore agree with Ambassador Mubi on what has been achieved but also acknowledge that more still needs to be done in, among other areas, job creation, housing delivery, and infrastructure development.