Cape Times

Planning a future for Zim without Mugabe

- Tawanda Karombo

THERE is a shared feeling inside Zimbabwe that the country’s economy will recover in the medium term as the momentum to oust President Robert Mugabe gathers pace, with support to boost the key agricultur­e sector already in place and finance managers saying they are keen to sink new money into projects under a conducive operating framework post the Mugabe era.

Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party yesterday recalled Mugabe from the position of party leader, saying he must resign as president by noon today or impeachmen­t proceeding­s would start.

Thousands of Zimbabwean­s on Saturday marched in the capital to call for the aged leader to step down. This had been made possible after the military intervened on Wednesday by confining Mugabe to his house and arresting “criminals” around him that included cabinet ministers.

Former finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who was reassigned to the cyber security portfolio, said on Saturday that Mugabe was causing economic suffering. He later said economic revival would be possible under a new dispensati­on without Mugabe.

A moment wanted “What we are saying is that there is a lot that we could do as a country without Mugabe. It is a moment we have always wanted,” Chinamasa said as he was mobbed by ordinary Zimbabwean­s for selfies.

Zimbabwe’s economy has suffered liquidity and foreign currency shortages owing to low productivi­ty.

Economists and other experts say the country is also being affected by worsening investment inflows owing to bad policies and a lack of respect for property rights under Mugabe’s rule which had seen companies reduce capital flows into new projects and limit expansion programmes.

“We have always wanted to expand in Zimbabwe and we have done exploratio­n to see how we can add to our production, but it has not been sensible to put any new money because of the uncertain environmen­t. As investors, all we ask for and hope for is an environmen­t that allows us to do business and grow contributi­ons to the state through taxes, and we are expecting that this will be so over the next couple of months,” a finance manager with a big foreign company in Zimbabwe said yesterday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa