It’s never too late to correct our mistakes

WHEN the government was warned against hastily re-introducing a local currency without the necessary back-up to stabilise the local currency, it insisted that the move would stir production and ensure economic development.

Now, we are back where we were just before the late former President Robert Mugabe — for all his nationalistic and Pan-African sentiments — saw the wisdom of adopting the United States dollar as a currency of choice despite the fact that he did not see eye-to-eye with the Washington administration.

The President Emmerson Mnangagwa-led administration, which came to power promising an economic rebound under what was touted as a progressive “Second Republic” or “New Era”, has stunningly failed to address the currency crisis, and in just three years, we are worse off than ever before following the re-introduction of a local currency, whose value continues to fall.

Many traders now prefer payments in US dollars as the local currency and its real time gross settlement alternative can no longer store value. Although government has insisted it will not revert to a multi-currency system, the fact that many people are now using the US dollar simply means that all government interventions to arrest the currency crisis have failed, and the only viable way forward is to revert to the greenback or — alternatively — adopt the South African rand which is also more stable than our own currency.

Quite clearly, the re-introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar has not added any value to the economy, but has simply worsened things. Ironically, the country’s leadership has not seen this, or rather are reluctant to admit, raising questions if there are individuals close to the centre of power that are benefiting from this crisis.

The reluctance by the government to realise that the local currency has failed is worrisome. What is certain is that no one really believes in this currency, including many of those that are in the corridors of power. And yet they would want the rest of the population to invest their faith and trust in that same failing currency that is not even worth the paper it is printed on.

It is not a crime, but an admirable trait, to admit that we have failed and then go back to the drawing board and retrace our footsteps where we made the wrong turn so we can correct our missteps.

It is never too late to correct our mistakes, but it appears the government is not prepared to admit its wrongs.

And with that kind of stubborn attitude, we may be in for a long and brutal winter that will account for many casualties among many people that are dealing with the loss of income due to the COVID-19 lockdown on the one hand and the everescalating prices of basic commodities on the other — and the local prices continue to shoot through the roof so much that it does not even make sense.