Greetings to you readers and here’s hoping you have started the year well, the greatest miracle so far for everyone being that we have been allowed by God to experience 2015. I would want to believe that those that had taken time off work or business to be with their families are slowly streaming back as the days come and go and life’s demands beckon.

The year promises to be better than 2014 on the socio-economic front. It’s one that we need to approach with a lot of energy and vigour to make things happen. Some have already started complaining kuti “gore racho rakadhakwa nekuti bonus takanyimwa (the year is a drag, already compounded by the fact that we did not get our bonuses last year) but I hope such kind of prophecy will soon be dismissed as the economy peaks.

The world economy is expected to grow by 2,9 percent in 2015, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In 2014 world GDP was estimated to have increased by 2,5 percent. Global growth will be boosted by lower oil prices: a 10 percent fall is thought to add 0,2 percentage points to world GDP.

America will be the best-performing rich-world economy in 2015, with growth forecast at 3,3 percent. But the world economy will be held back by weakness in the euro area and Japan, and by slower growth in emerging markets. China will see expansion slow to 7 percent in 2015. Excluding Japan, Asia and Australasia will be the world’s fastest-growing region in 2015. Papua New Guinea is predicted to be the zippiest economy of all, expanding by almost 15 percent.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast that sub-Saharan Africa will grow by 5,8 percent, buoyed by infrastructural investments, the services sector and agriculture. The continent’s economy grew by 5,1 percent in 2013. However the Ebola outbreak would constrict growth, particularly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea

As Zimbabwe, we should embrace a whole new year which ushers endless possibilities and, with the right attitude, a new orientation and a new dispensation. Examples abound of resolutions which remain just a theoretical concept for the subsequent 12 months. Worse still, this phenomenon is replicated for countless years and yet we clamour for progress. Therefore, this year has to be the year that takes the economy on a sustainable growth trajectory.

It’s an ambitious and yet achievable target. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamsa has already predicted an 8,1 percent economic growth figure. Many have dismissed it as day-dreaming but the truth of the matter is that everyone would want to experience positive growth hence we should all apply ourselves as we seek to achieve such “ambitious” GDP growth figures.

With the right attitude we will emerge stronger and triumphant. Sometimes painful decisions will have to be made, sometimes we may need to re-orient, in other cases we have to be innovative and also be resourceful to get the results we anticipate.

The road to be traversed is not any easy one. No one ever said it was, more-so now than ever before. Business conditions are quite depressed. Aggregate demand is discernibly low. House-holds are confronted by a plethora of challenges. Production in factories is very low and the liquidity crunch appears to persist – for now, having repercussions on the economy. Value-addition, despite its immense benefits, has not been done at envisaged levels. Furthermore, imports have continued to haemorrhage this economy. Company closures are rampant and so too is downsizing. Accessing capital is largely almost like shooting in the dark.

Given the fore-going it is easy to wallow in self-pity and immerse oneself in inertia. But no! This is the time to rise and shine as individuals, institutions and as a country. This is the time that separates boys from men and failures from successful people. Solutions to challenges highlighted above vary from sector to sector and company to company.

As the year unfolds, let there be greater impetus in all our endeavours in whatever sphere we are in. Let’s seek to expend more energy on that which builds rather that which destroys. It is unfortunate that the year started with a few cases of corruption being unearthed, reflecting that the vice is still deeply entrenched in our economy. We are hopeful that any cases of graft will be dealt with to stamp out the vice.

The introduction of bond coins a few weeks ago came as a major step as the central bank moved to restore the change issue. Not only have prices been inflated because of the need to round off figures because the market has been short of coins but consumers have been made to buy trinkets in place of change. If you multiplied the amount of money one has had to exchange for sweets or matches in a shop by 30 days it becomes such a significant amount that could make a whole world of difference where this was to be converted into food on the table or even clothing for the family.

This is an issue that has affected the multicurrency system since day one and we commend the central bank for doing something about it. We are told that in March or thereabout they will add 50 cents to the family of coins available on the market.

In the medium to long term we all have a fuller appreciation of the importance of having such coins in the economy as is the case with most markets in the world.

However, it is unfortunate that in some quarters the bond coins are being viewed with great suspicion as a backdoor introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar. Some have gone hysterical to the extent of saying they will have none of the coins as change.

We begin to wonder what informs such fears. Of course the hyper-inflation era where the Zimdollar was losing value as one withdrew it from the ATM is still fresh in people’s minds but this is not to say we should view with suspicion all efforts being made to make transacting much easier. In this instance mere coins will not replace the multi-currency regime and some fears appear uninformed and unwarranted.

We appreciate that the apex bank has already held meetings with stakeholders but it would also be critical to up the game in terms of national awareness. Indeed it is critical that we begin the year on a positive note, applying all the energy we can to achieve the results that we all desire.

It’s not too ambitious to expect positive growth in our economy, its not too far-fetched to believe progress will be made in exporting value-added products thus boosting export earning and its not illegal to desire a good life and subsequently working towards achieving it.

We are also buoyed by prophecies at the beginning of the year that Zimbabwe’s economy will soon rebound. We thank God for this and continue to pray for the manifestation. As I have always said, some of us believe it is the voice of God speaking and that God is not a man that he should lie or a son of man that he should change his mind (Numbers 23:19). In God I trust!

E-mail:[email protected]

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey