Zimpapers Logo

Golden Sibanda and Tapiwanashe Mangwiro

THE outcome of the just-ended general elections in Zimbabwe, which saw President-Elect Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party romp to an easy and resounding victory, bodes well for the continuation of ongoing key national programmes, macro-economic stability, growth and policy thrust, economic analysts and business leaders said.

President Mnangagwa won the people’s mandate to govern for the next five years after polling 2 350 711 votes, which translates to 52,6 percent of the vote, beating his biggest challenger, CCC’s Nelson Chamisa who got 1 967 343 or 44 percent of the vote.

Similarly, his Zanu PF party won the parliamentary race, securing 136 of the 210 seats that were contested compared to 73 for the CCC. One seat was not assigned due to the death of a candidate.

Economic analysts and captains of industry said in an interview yesterday that President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF party’s victories augured well for the continuation of economic programmes and policy direction that are bearing fruit.

A different outcome, the analysts and business leaders said, would have led to a change of policy direction, abandonment of certain national projects and domination of Zimbabwe’s economic and political space by foreign forces.

Zimbabwe’s economy grew by 8,6 percent in 2021, 6,5 percent last year and is projected to expand further by 5,3 percent this year, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

The growth has been anchored on solid growth in agriculture, which over the years has seen record output in grain production, mining and infrastructure among other key areas. Supportive Government policy has been a consistent thread among factors that have allowed Zimbabwe’s economy to register such stellar growth despite domestic and global headwinds.

Notably, the growing confidence in the effectiveness of President Mnangagwa’s Second Republic, has massive investments across Zimbabwe’s key economic sectors, which analysts believe needed to be completed as they have already laid a solid foundation for sustainable growth going forward.

Economist and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) monetary policy committee member, Mr Persistence Gwanyanya, said Zimbabwe currently has programmes and development plans that are in place and have been progressing well, given the background the country is coming from relating to structural challenges.

“We need to continue with those programmes and projects. So, in my view, what is more important is to maintain the traction; what is more important is to increase the momentum of the transformation.

“We are in a period where we want to transform the economy, so we are looking forward to improved progress on transforming the real sectors of the economy.

“It is commendable work the Government has done in transforming agriculture, for example, against the targets we have set for ourselves as a country,” Mr Gwanyanya said.

Zimbabwe had set a target of growing the agriculture sector to an US$8,2 billion economy by 2025, which has already been met following the 36,2 percent growth achieved in 2021, according to Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Anxious Masuka.

Mr Gwanyanya said the expectation was also for continued transformation in terms of production and value addition in other key sectors of the economy including mining, manufacturing and tourism.

“It (President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF victories), mean the continuation of the pre-election period (policy direction and projects). But more importantly, stability should continue to take centre stage in the post-election period.

“We should continue with the judicious management of the fiscus, and measures to tighten the monetary policy and key projects such as the Reserve Bank has started to implement; the ZiG (gold-backed digital tokens) roll out, which (apart from being an investment instrument) are going to perform the (alternative) medium of exchange function.

“We want us to progress and transform the current (economic) space. We want our currency to be recognised and tradable in the international arena; so all those show us that we have got ambitious targets for 2025 to 2030 dealing with the transformative agenda,” said.

A change of political stewardship of the country, Mr Gwanyanya said, would have resulted in changes to the policy trajectory of Zimbabwe. For instance, some in the opposition believe in dollarisation of the economy, which has short-term gains and immediate stability but is unsustainable given its dependence on the US dollar and its effect on national competitiveness due to its reliance on an overly strong foreign currency.

“It would have meant we go back and start afresh because their policy thrust is completely different on the economy. Some believe in dollarisation, the opposition has always believed in the easier option (to Zimbabwe’s economy challenges), of using dollarisation,” Mr Gwanyanya said.

Commenting on the same issue, Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Denford Mutashu, said the most important point about the election results was the preservation of the country’s history, legacy, freedom, political and economic independence.

“The win by President-Elect Dr Mnangagwa is a win for the country; it is a win against neo-colonialism and imperialism given the current context of the geopolitical environment.

“We obviously are quite confident and aware of the machinations behind the scenes in trying to destabilise the country and in trying to do so through the economic apparatus of the Global North.

“So, as a country and as a business community, we are quite happy that there is continuity and the stability that was attained in the economy, certainly is going to be nurtured. We have achieved that stability against so many other contesting forces; economic instability, exchange rate volatility and (running) inflation and currency crashing,” he said.

Mr Mutashu said there have in the recent past been underhand efforts to use price increases to turn the public against the sitting Government. He said patriotic business leaders in Zimbabwe were ready to defend the country in the business and economic space through whatever it takes to defy the country’s detractors.

“We of course now expect the peaceful and tranquil environment that was obtained before, during and after the elections. Economic stability is grounded in a peaceful country and a peaceful country brought about by a protracted liberation struggle,” he said.

Going forward, Mr Mutashu said the major focus should be on measures to increase the taxation base by incorporating the shadowy economy (unregistered operators) to contribute towards the fiscus.

“The current growth of the shadowy economy is not something that we wish to continue at this juncture.

“Each and every business has got to contribute, however, small the contribution may be. It means the Government may not necessarily need to increase taxation on the shrinking formal sector in order to continue to meet the taxation targets through the fiscal policy,” he said.

Further, he said the expectation was for the Government to continue the thrust on massive infrastructure development across the country and for priority to be placed on growth with equity by coming up with policy initiatives or programmes that improve the living standards of the poor as the economy grows.

This, Mr Mutashu said, could take the form of cooperatives targeting the youths, women, rural dwellers and graduates from colleges and universities, which must be funded and resourced to undertake productive activities that generate real incomes.

Economic analyst Namatai Maeresera said continuity was the best position as we are in the middle of implementing various policy and national programmes that needed to be seen through by those who started them.

“We are in the middle of the National Development Strategy One (NDS1) which is supposed to usher in the industrial revolution and also we are in the middle of negotiating a debt repayment strategy which is advanced and needs to be finished by this team,” he said.

Banker Raymond Chitsuwa believes the Government needed more time to deal with monetary issues in the economy, which have since started responding positively given the now prevailing stability.

“We are currently fighting hyperinflation and we seem to be winning the war, so it is only sensible that the team that began the ‘war’ finishes it by leaving the country in a normal inflationary state.

“Currency issues are also there and need to be dealt with, we are still struggling to really grasp the problem and put it to bed but we have made inroads, which this team needs to continue to deal with,” Mr Chitsuwa said.