How long shall we wait for promises?

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa made many promises since he entered office in November 2017. He was greeted with all the confidence that the Zimbabweans could give as citizens viewed him as a messiah.

There was euphoria countrywide. The new dispensation promised to solve the cash and unemployment crises, increase production capacity in the industrial sector, joining the international community of nations and allowing the diaspora vote, among other things.

Almost five years later, the situation is now even worse than under the old dispensation. Mnangagwa’s initial 100 days in office yielded nothing. We were told of financial support from all directions; east, west, north and south. The biggest financiers were said to be China and Britain. These countries were said to have warmed up to the new dispensation.

Indeed, we saw screaming headlines in the Statecontrolled media and we had no reason to be pessimistic. The administration is now running out of time. The promises are fast losing steam. Even the most loyal supporters are now finding it very difficult to defend the new dispensation.

The country is in the hyperinflation league, the lowest groove that no country would ever wish to be a part of.

The authorities, as usual, might deny the spell of hyperinflation, but they cannot tamper with economics. The truth will eventually come to the fore. What has happened to the big figures we were told not so long ago? What happened to the billions of dollars from China? For how long should we wait for the promises to be delivered? People don’t feed on promises, but they need deliverables.

Politicians may lie as much as they like, but investors are so shrewd that they cannot be hoodwinked by piece-meal reforms.