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A school trip that parents could easily fork $2 000 has become a point of conflict as parents seek to explain why this time around their son will not go on the trip

There is so much indignation or is it trepidation in the economy as the liquidity challenge continues to bite. Many seem unsure of what tomorrow holds as they continue to see their pockets become shallower by the day.Of course there are others, some not prone to straight means of making money and many others who are making it big through legitimate business deals who do not seem to feel the pinch.

For them all is well and dandy.

There are also those who know their God as the provider who seem unfazed as they rely more on the heavenly economics and for them God remains faithful and always shows up timeously.

But for others, statements such as “unotoshaya kuti zvirikumbofamba sei? (You wonder what is happening) have become common place and only come second to the national anthem as many wonder how and when all these problems will come to an end.

At parties, funerals, parking lots, on WhatsApp, text messages, the story is the same. Times are challenging. The discussions and negative under current obtaining in the economy have a danger of even exaggerating the state of affairs as people pay more attention to the problem rather than the solutions, thus blurring their vision on possible opportunities and solutions that can get them out of the quagmire.

The situation is not helped by reports of companies retrenching or reducing salaries by half to survive. That some workers are going on for months without salaries is no longer news.  A recent report also quoted companies that had withdrawn school fees and other allowances as a strategy to minimize costs at least to remain afloat. In most homes, murmurs of inadequate this or that are growing as demands for basics have become a challenge to meet.

A school trip that parents could easily fork $2 000, has become a point of conflict as parents seek to explain why this time around their son will not go on the trip and yet on the other hand the young boy fails to understand how the parents could be so insensitive to fail pay for the trip.

Ordinarily a scheduled visit to your sister is usually welcome with a table-full of food but these days one is lucky to get a cup of coffee and biscuits. Not that they have become less hospitable but that the money just isn’t there to cater for such “luxuries”.

The growing cases of divorce and adultery have also been attributed to this animal called liquidity challenge.

The Zimbabawe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) is expected to rid the economy of this challenge in the medium to long term. But it also needs funding to take off in earnest and achieve the expected results.

This is a great document that will bring results for this economy but it needs liquidity to fuel its implementation.

So in the meantime what is the solution to the liquidity crisis in the economy?

I belong to the philosophy that says to every challenge there are opportunities. Yes the economy is in dire need of funding and a lot of things seem to be going wrong. But Zimbabweans have always been a resilient lot that always finds ways and means of getting by.

This story has not changed and should not change until the days of plenty are upon us.

If you drive through such places as Epworth and other high density suburbs, vendors are selling one-meal packages of cooking oil, mealie meal, sugar, meat etc commonly referred to as “tsaona”. These help solve the immediate problem of the day’s meal as households await for a better tomorrow which will surely come, depending on one’s attitude.

Overall, what is required are behavioural and lifestyle changes as people adapt to current dictates. Where people used to overspend or took shopping as a pastime, careful budgeting has to be adopted.

This applies to individuals as it does to corporate and even the Government. For firms, instead of rendering hundreds and thousands of people jobless, cost-cutting measures can be implemented to ensure that the firm remains afloat. Furthermore, the habit of importing chocolates or peanut butter and milk needs to be minimized so that the dollar can be allowed to circulate in the economy and make it accessible to the millions that are searching high and low for it.

Faced with such a liquidity challenge, Zimbabwe cannot afford to import $7 billion worth of mostly trinkets and yet export a paltry $3 billion. This just does not add up. Shop shelves are full of imported products that the generality of the market does not need and cannot afford hence these resources can be used to fund productive processes that will generate jobs and wealth to better the nation’s livelihood.

Productivity is another term that has not been effectively applied on the shopfloor. In all sectors of the economy workers and management need to change their work ethic and adopt efficient and effective production methods that will yield results, even in an economy as challenged as outs.

Time is an important resource that should not be put to waste. Civil servants are notorious for their care less attitude towards work. This just has to change if the economy is to improve. The days of just seeing a jacket on the chair as a sign that a particular office is manned are gone by.

People just have to give of their best if the situation is to change for the better. The concept of sowing and reaping has become even more evident now more than ever. What you put in is what you get.

Furthermore, talk shows and debates remain healthy as the nation seeks a way out of present challenges but lets have less of these and more of action, the kind of action that brings results. Self-less action that is not concerned just about whats-in-it-for-me but how best will this help change the situation for me and for all of us.

Greediness and corruption breeds selfishness and a whole host of negative traits that have cost the economy greatly. This is a subject we have dealt with in this column many times.

In our respective spheres of influence, lets endeavour to make decisions that will impact the economy in a positive way. Our actions, even in the darkest of closets, feed into the sum total of what Zimbabwe will become. So let us act in a manner that is not detrimental to our welfare but one that will form a formidable force to fend off the liquidity and attendant challenges that afflict the economy today.

In God I Trust!