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President Mnangagwa’s hunt for perfect men and women to help him deliver a prosperous Zimbabwe to the people ended on Monday this week when he swore in his 20-member Cabinet and deputy ministers at State House.

The announcement ended weeks of speculation on who the Head of State and Government would pick among his long standing colleagues in Government and young technocrats who have also demonstrated their commitment to a better Zimbabwe.

The appointment of the Cabinet marks the beginning of a long journey demanding hard work, honesty and openness if the team is to deliver people to the Promised Land.

As the ministers and other systems of Government prepare to hit the ground, we know all eyes are on Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube as he begins the journey to resolve the country’s economic challenges.

The country is faced with a myriad challenges, among them the unofficial market for foreign currency that has seen prices of goods spiking, lack of foreign currency, low exports and foreign direct investment, employment creation and ending the scourge of corruption.

In as much as these problems cannot be solved by the intervention of a single ministry, a majority of Zimbabweans are unanimous that Prof Ncube should provide the silver bullet to rescue the country.

Some of the decisions to be implemented will be painful and bitter to swallow, but we implore Zimbabweans to rally behind the minister and render him the maximum support required to save the country.

In the history on turnaround strategy implementation, people are met with situations such as salary cuts, suspension of traditional luxuries and benefits and other perquisites. In some extreme cases people are sent packing without immediately receiving their retrenchment packages — indeed painful.

The austerity measures will see some people’s insatiable appetite for luxuries such as expensive cars and foreign trips being curtailed, while those that survived on selling currencies on the unofficial market might see their trade dying a natural death and being forced to find alternative ways of earning a living.

As the country waits for the Minister of Finance to finalise his strategies and get endorsement from the President and Cabinet, we urge law abiding Zimbabweans and companies to start aligning their trades with the best practices to avoid disappointment — foreign currency should go back to the official banking channels.

There might be serious consequences for businesses and individuals caught on the wrong side of the law.

This week the minister had meetings with the business community, where he sought to understand their concerns and reports abound he will also move around the country meeting different stakeholders.

The businesspeople and the public in general should take this opportunity to explain to the minister their concerns.

The consultation process might last long and businesses and individuals should make sure they realign themselves with basics and proper conduct in business to avoid disappointment because during the implementation, some tough policies are required to turn around the economy.

As the country waits for the minister to roll out his programme, it is our hope that everyone will play ball and not create unnecessary bottlenecks that delay the country’s move towards economic recovery.