The Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe)

Can’t fit into wrong shoe

We can only attain unquestion­able economic freedom if we begin to produce more. We can only produce more through hard work, not aid. Period.

- Teddie Bepete

WE HAVE to pay attention to the wisdom of revolution­aries like Ernesto Guevara who said: “The revolution is not an apple that falls when ripe. You have to make it fall.” The journey from poverty to affluence is never an easy one. The road to progress traverses a terrain of impediment­s.

It is a journey in which the pros- pects of reaching the destinatio­n seem remote and unattainab­le; something that demands us to be ever watchful and be in a perennial state of struggle.

Remain alert to the reality that because our Independen­ce was borne from the barrel of the gun, economic stability and prosperity are never going to come on a silver platter.

These will never be handed to us by a foreign hand, but from our own labour and resources. Economic freedom means managing our economy and employing home-grown initiative­s.

A country may never boost its economy if resources are not evenly distribute­d downwards amongst its people. A country cannot be completely free without total control of its economic foundation­s.

“The idea that political freedom can be preserved in the absence of economic freedom, and vice versa, is an illusion. Political freedom is the corollary of economic freedom,” said Ludwig von Mises.

Zimbabwe’s irreversib­le Land Reform Programme was a major step ahead towards the achievemen­t of total freedom.

And there is need to deploy pragmatic approaches like Command Agricultur­e to ensure our land is productive.

We can only attain unquestion­able economic freedom if we begin to produce more. We can only produce more through hard work, not aid. Period.

Aneurin Bevan taught us that, “Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.”

Dependency is the acid that gnaws at our well-being, leaving us empty and stunted. Slavery comes with the hand that feeds you.

The “free market” has never been good for our nascent economies.

It allows the already rich to use their capital to undermine our growth and secure the continuity of a capitalism that favours them, it never allows for equitable redistribu­tion of resources among the poor.

Aid is a goblin that sucks our national silos dry.

Many ask how we can ameliorate our economic woes. The answer is simple: it starts with you and me.

We need to have faith in ourselves and admit that the future is in our custody therefore it is the duty of every Zimbabwean to strive for national economic prosperity.

There is need to stop the evil of corruption before we start on anything else. It is our duty as Zimbabwean­s to start working for transforma­tion.

A revolution can never be successful without perseveran­ce, sacrifice and loyalty.

Real transforme­rs can never be given to materialis­m but to the needs of the people. We do not wish for cannibalis­tic economies that feed on our sweat and blood.

There are no foreign prescripti­ons that can solve our issues.

In the same way that we wear different shoe sizes, our feet need shoes that are sufficient­ly comfortabl­e for the situation, last the journey and are fit for purpose.

No one should force us into the wrong size.

As Government implements groundbrea­king policies like Command Agricultur­e and the Presidenti­al Inputs Support Scheme, the people must be informed about the utility of such policy designs and see that these are the kinds of shoes that fit our feet.

The history of developed economies informs us that at one time in the history of their evolution, some kind of command was certainly used.

Things did not just happen of their own accord.

The modern economies of America and Britain are not the result of bambazonke.

Someone sat down and came up with a shoe that fit those nations best.

There is central planning and a deliberate thrust to inform the trajectory that industry, manufactur­ing, transport, infrastruc­ture, mining, agricultur­e and tourism must take.

Let’s get the shoe that best fits.

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