Zimbabwe riots are proof of broken economy

by Justice Zhou

The anti-government protests and riots that have just broken out in Zimbabwe are not surprising to those of us who, while carefully watching from a distance, saw them coming.

From social media activism to peaceful marches to violent protests, scores of Zimbabweans have united to duly vent their frustrations at Robert Mugabe’s failed economic policies, calling for his immediate retirement.

It can only be daft and dishonest, therefore, to keep insisting this isn’t a broken country—with a broken economy— given the rate of unemployment and endemic corruption and bad policies.

It’s common cause for politically-correct individuals to cry foul whenever constructive criticism is levelled against some of our corrupt leaders, which is quite sad.

Journalists and others who take the time to bring to light what is actually going on in our country are continuously being vilified for their honesty and courage, in the court of political-correctness.

Even where they have used appropriate terms to describe this sorry situation, they have been called all sorts of names, sometimes made to feel as if they were not Zimbabwean enough.

But there’s no point in denying that our country is broken when there’s plenty of convincing proof that every aspect of it is, unless one wants the status quo to remain.

To my mind, the current wave of civil unrest attests to that fact. And there doesn’t seem to be anything that would stop these protests until the tendency to overstay in power and bad governance are nipped in the bud once and for all.

Zimbabwe has for a long time been an economic disaster waiting to happen. Arguably, the source of what fuels the  latest bout of economic troubles bedevilling the southern African state can be traced back to the 2013 elections.

Truth be told, Mugabe has the overwhelming blessing of leaders from the regional SADC bloc to keep his octopus-like grip on power, which has not helped matters either.

It would be hard to disagree with this fact, given the actions and behaviour of some of these countries’ leaders, which border on their unwavering support for his lengthy reign.

By so doing, they appear to be complicit in encouraging a cult of personality and abetting one of the world’s heartless despotisms.

Following that so-called victory in 2013, Mugabe had promised to turn around the economy and create millions of jobs, but nothing has materialised as has widely been expected.

Instead, the economy is once again in a tailspin as companies shut down and cash shortages and hunger rear their ugly heads.

Rather than focus on fixing the deepening crisis and mending relations with the developed world, Mugabe’s primary objective has been to launch useless attacks on the opposition and rant at western governments.

We have not seen any of the corruption probes being carried out  or anyone arrested despite his revelations that billions worth of diamonds have been looted.

All we now get from policymakers to remedy the meltdown is the cocktail of the same toxic policies that already were tried and proved unworkable in the past.

For instance, last month the government announced a ban on certain imports, saying the measures were meant to protect and develop local industries.

One can understand the hubris behind the curbs on the cheap “supermarket” goods that, apparently, have flooded the country; it makes lots of economic sense.

Zimbabwe can’t afford to keep being bombarded with products that it can make on its own, at a time when it is exporting less.

This probably could be part of the reason there has been a massive flight of the US dollar from the country, which has worsened the cash and liquidity crunch.

However, the idea of capital controls and plans to introduce bond notes, the controversial local replica of the US dollar, aren’t promising ones.

Lesser exports and a ballooning import bill mean that the hope of ever dealing with the yawning trade and current account deficits will remain up in flames.

Ideally, supply side policies would be required to improve economic efficiency, making exports more attractive and capable of competing with imports, in turn improving the current account position.

Zimbabwe still needs a lot of imports, ironically, not necessarily the ones that are currently being dumped on its shores.

It needs massive investment to import plant and equipment and other capital stock needed to develop its industries or to build new factories.

But here’s the catch. Brighter investment prospects have not been forthcoming under Mugabe’s hostile rule, given the wide-ranging risks to investors and the country’s gloomy profile.

At the same time, it looks like protectionism and other half measures such as banning the same goods that have offered a lifeline to informal cross-border traders is ill-advised, if not daft.

Hence, one can understand the anger by largely poor cross-border traders in Beitbridge, who recently took to the streets against the ridiculous ban, going as far as setting alight a warehouse in which some of their unfairly seized goods were being kept.

There can be no doubt in my mind that the goods confiscated by border authorities would have eventually landed in the hands of corrupt fat cats.

Unfortunately, we still face a situation where you have a failed kleptocracy that even has the nerve to blame everyone but themselves for the rot they ought to bear responsibility for bringing about.

There can be no such thing as a “third force” or illegal sanctions, that we always lay the blame on whenever Mugabe’s absurd policies have failed us, it's a myth.

If a government and its leader are clueless, having completely no idea how to deliver on promises, people have every right to show them the exit door.

This country has been looted, fractured and is broken by any other name, far from the jewel nation it was initially meant to be, and there’s definitely no way that we can continuously be in denial about this.

The current wave of disobedience has been a long time coming. The time for the government to own up is now; it can’t be business as usual when things have gone from bad to worse.