Government must focus on economic revival

EDITOR — Debates on the new political development brought about by the intervention of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) are escalating by the day and there is no doubt there are going to be fundamental changes to the way this country is governed.

The major problem I see is that a majority of our people may not understand what it means to develop a viable economy in which all will benefit or will play a role. The financial crisis is a symptom which everybody can feel and see, queues at banks are still visible. Why is there no cash for depositors who need it?

Yes, we can print bond notes, but why are we selling gold that should be in the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe vaults to back the bond notes that we print? Many wealthy countries do not sell gold, but keep it as a form of financial reserve held by national banks.

Another economic disease that must be addressed is the tendency to spend more than we are worth. The Minister of Finance has told us that we cannot afford to have a Parliament of 350 members for a country of 13 million. Now MPs say they are owed $15 million in unpaid allowances.

The black market or parallel market is there because the financial sector has failed to address the root cause of the economic mismanagement, which is lack of funding for the productive sector to generate the much needed foreign currency.