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Victoria Ruzvidzo Business Focus
“In pursuit of a new trajectory of accelerated economic growth and wealth creation, Government has formulated a new plan known as the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset): October 2013-December 2018.
“Zim Asset was crafted to achieve sustainable development and social equity anchored on indigenisation, empowerment and employment creation which will be largely propelled by the judicious exploitation of the country’s abundant human and natural resources,” reads part of the foreword by President Mugabe in the Zim Asset document.

“Government ministries and agencies, the private sector and development partners, and the nation at large are therefore called upon to work together in championing the implementation of this results-based agenda,” he adds.

I find these words pregnant with meaning, energy and the determination to transform this economy into a formidable one.
Indeed, it was time Zimbabwe embarked on a sustainable growth path that will transform the potential that has always been resident in this economy into reality.

Zimbabwe has never been a basket case as perceived elsewhere. It is endowed with rich natural resources as aptly captured by the President in his preamble.

What has just been stalling progress was the need for a dedicated results-oriented thrust that would put all systems into motion.
However, after perusing the Zim Asset document I can safely and confidently say that this is what the doctor ordered.

The contents, the targets, the operational modalities and the discipline engendered in the economic blue-print, if followed to the letter, are bound to rejuvenate this economy and take it to levels previously unfathomed.

The Zimbabwe we want will soon be a reality. What I particularly find intriguing about this document is the desire by the promoters – Government – to check the pulse at every stage so that it does not experience the state of comatose that has befallen previous documents at one stage or the other.

The public sector will be held to account, In fact, Zim Asset proposes that senior management levels in this sector will have performance contracts. This is one strategy that will take out . . . From the chuff.

We were becoming tired of many in the public sector who put half-hearted efforts in what they do but have been rewarded handsomely come month-end.

There are those in this sector who are not creative or innovative and have failed to adapt to the new ways of doing things and have thus become irrelevant or incongruent to development.

Then there are those who know exactly what needs to be done but have chosen to expend their energy in their personal enterprises, viewing their work as an impediment and an inconvenience to progress.

Then we have those that are really geared to work but are held back by those that cannot be bothered at all as long as they get their pay cheques and the perks to go with it.

But a solid and results-oriented performance management policy should put all these categories of people to check. Zimbabwe needs committed and hardworking patriots to take the economy to a sustainable growth path.

The same story goes for the private sector. Zim Asset needs men and women who will not sabotage current efforts but will give their all to revive the economy.

The ingredients for success the country has hence we all need to pull in the same direction to achieve tangible results that will see Zimbabwe take its space on the grand stage.

A prominent business executive confided in me a few months ago that Zimbabwe’s poor credit rating had little to do with the actual state of affairs but that there were big private sectors players who were busy churning out false reports which would then be factors when rating the country’s performance.

How a true Zimbabwe with a conscience would denigrate their own country and perpetrate falsehoods boggles the mine. However, this country has no space   for such people and the new Zanu-PF Government really looks set on achieving its targets.

The private sector is thus called upon to play its role in oiling the economic engine. More speed is required to achieve the set targets and objectives.

The President stated in his foreword that the private sector, development partners and other stakeholders were consulted in the formulation of this new economic blueprint.

This says that stakeholder buy-in is not something that the Government needs to expend its energy on because it is a given.
The private sector should also come up with its stringent performance management measures specifically to ensure that Zim Asset achieves results.

Already most companies have adopted such tools as the balance scorecard to monitor and evaluate performances but it would be critical to come up with a modus operandi that feeds into or from Zim Asset.

Representative bodies such as the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union and the whole lot should have in place tangible strategies that clearly state how their respective portfolios will give impetus to the new economic programme.

Each sector in the economy has the onus to ensure the set targets are achieved. For instance, the manufacturing sector is expected to have grown by 9,5 percent in 2018.

This may sound untenable for a sector struggling to survive and yet the figure is quite decent and achievable. But it means hard work and no clock-watching. It means the sector should begin to see opportunities where previously it could only see challenges.
It means more resourcefulness on the part of the sector’s drivers.

This also puts pressure on the agricultural sector so that it performs well and supply the 65 percent resources from that sector that should feed into the manufacturing sector. All sectors are expected to put their foot forward and move. Zimbabweans have always been known to be hard workers who are also creative and innovative.

From my standpoint, the Zanu-PF manifesto was no election gimmick. Results must be seen and results must be produced at all costs.
What Zim Asset effectively says is that as a country we need to change our work ethics and culture which had slackened somewhat in recent years. It’s no longer business as usual.

We all need to collectively apply our minds and energy to operationalise the economic blueprint. There is no room for excuses or a laid back approach.

As stated in the document, it will be funded largely from local resources and what this means is that our mineral resources and other endowments will have to be converted into hard cash in some instances. This is a process that requires presence of mind and attention to detail.

These are words and phrases that should form part of our vocabulary in our day-to-day discharge of duty. Where we used to “burn” the dollar we now must burn the midnight candle. It goes with the territory and it surely can be done.
The results, an average 9,9 percent economic growth rate by 2018, are enticing.

Let us all do our best to get the economy going. Targets set for all sectors of the economy are achievable.
The days of glory for this economy are no longer a pipe dream.  If anything so much is set to be achieved and the results could even surprise even the most optimistic among us. A combination of the natural resources, dedication to duty and support from our development partners will surely produce the Zimbabwe we all yearn for.

In God I Trust!

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