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Dr Masimba Mavaza

Zimbabwe is facing acts by several political camps, disrupting, harassing and damaging the reputation of the country and the ruling Zanu PF.

This is more so usually during an electoral campaign. Smear campaigns are a commonly used tactic, but in the case of Zimbabwe, the tactics are damaging the country’s economy forever.

The economy of Zimbabwe mainly relies on its tertiary industry, which makes up to 60 percent of the total GDP.

The informal sector has a big share of the economy, with agriculture and mining largely contributing to exports.

With sabotage Zimbabwe is getting from regime change campaigners, the economy is not growing at the much desired speed.

Agriculture is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, as the country remains largely dominated by rural people who derive their livelihood from agriculture and other related rural economic activities.

The government has taken to complete the land distribution.

Some of the major industries include mining, cement, clothing and footwear and wood products.

Agriculture is also a significant contributor, with a contribution of around 20.3 percent of the total GDP. The economic situation in Zimbabwe is bright, but is now under attack from saboteurs.

The economic history of Zimbabwe began with the transition to majority rule in 1980 and Britain’s ceremonial granting of independence.

The new government under the then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe promoted socialism, partially relying on international aid.

In 2000, the government embarked on the land reform programme to share the land and correct the colonial imbalances.

But now there are some specialising in derailing the benefits we have gained since the beginning of the New Dispensation.

President Mnangagwa and Zimbabwe are facing serious attacks by some unpatriotic Zimbabweans and some foreigners.

These people use a variety of destructive tactics, with the opposition, through CCC and civic organisations, trying to bring down the economy of Zimbabwe.

They use similarly coercive means such as physical force or judicial institutions if and when necessary. If they fail, they then request some serious economic strangulation, especially by some countries with some economic power.

The actions of the opposition are deliberately meant to slow down work by the New Dispensation, with the intention of damaging business and economic systems, with the aim of weakening the government and the nation.

Zimbabweans are under attack not only from foreign sabotage, but now from some among them posing as the opposition.

The most basic function of government is to protect the people and their property and this why the threats of disturbances and shutdowns must be dealt with effectively.

If the shutdowns are allowed, we will be in a recession that will result in millions of Zimbabweans losing their jobs and plunging the nation into serious hardships.

Or we may not be lucky and have a deepening of the recession with a long, slow turnaround.

Since economic science is not sufficiently developed to forecast the future with much certainty, the responsible policymaker takes action to remove as many impediments to the economic growth as possible.

The emergence of the black market on which some are devaluing the local currency at will is a result of a sustained onslaught on the currency by economic saboteurs.

The government must identify and severely punish the economic saboteurs who are fueling inflation through manipulating the exchange rate on the black market.

It must not matter who the saboteurs are or who is backing them, the law must just be applied to save our economy.

The idea of the opposition is to starve the nation so that people rebel against the government. They cannot win in any election, so they now attack the economy.

The saboteurs have made the black-market exchange rate to widened, with prices of basic goods and services increasing correspondingly.

This is an attack on the nation and on our economy.

“What we have is just a currency attack by saboteurs,” Finance and Economic Development Deputy Minister Clemence Chiduwa correctly observed recently. “The determination of the currency is determined by fundamentals that are in place. We need to find out who is sabotaging the currency.”

CCC official Tendai Biti and his party have been pushing for the use of the US dollar. In his words Biti said: “It (the US dollar) works. It worked during the government of national unity.”

From this push, it is now clear that their plan is to remove the economic power of the Zimbabwean government and place the power in the owners of the US dollar, which is the United States.

Clearly meaning that the US will be in full control of the flow of money in Zimbabwe, thus the cry for the US dollar is just meant to weaken the country.

“We cannot run a country with a currency that is not ours,” Deputy Minister Chiduwa recently responded to Biti. “What the Honourable Member (of Parliament) (Biti) is saying does not work. We are going to make it work with the Zimbabwean dollar.”

Current events in Zimbabwe show that while a week may be a long time in politics, it is really a very short blink of an eye in economics.

The opposition CCC and their handlers are putting Zimbabwe in a precarious position. It is clear they do not want anything in Zimbabwe to succeed.

Zanu PF and President Mnangagwa have been able to take Zimbabwe’s economy on the road to recovery.

President Mnangagwa made the economy to grow in 2021. While some people with dubious intentions are very skeptical, the President will surely deliver amidst the negative narrative from these misguided elements.

The opposition’s careless talk is meant turn people against their country.

The euphoria that has gripped the nation has certainly raised hopes that the future will be brighter, but if that improved sentiment is to deliver economic dividends, the government needs to make some drastic moves.

We need to explore the challenges and solutions experienced within Zimbabwe’s economic and social spheres.

The harm from such sabotage as shutdowns directly affects the people, hence economic sabotage is as good as terrorism.

The opposition always engage in the economic sabotage by political manipulation.

The problem arises not from an abandonment of common sense, but instead from a failure to grasp the destructive consequences that the opposition’s actions can impose on life and property.

The result of sabotage, intentional or misguided, is always the same – devastation of life and property, and the final result is a lower standard of living as the cost of living increases and productive activity declines.

The devastation to life and property from these actions like shutdowns will be visible to all. The evil of such sabotage would be clearly seen.

As Zimbabweans, let us say No to destructive industrial actions like shutdowns and stay-aways.