(TALKZIMBABWE) Too many promises too early

Too many promises too early
Frank Matimbe - Opinion
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:49:00 +0000

DEAR EDITOR — It is often argued that change is inevitable and this holds true also in the Zimbabwean scenario. Change is a process, not an event, hence its inevitability. But sometimes it is not the change we seek.

I have been hearing calls for a radical change in Government structures and systems by the new Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti. As much as I applaud him for focussing on the need for reform, I wish to sound some warning tones.

I think it is a noble idea to want to effect change, but it is not an easy thing to do considering that he has to do it within the confines of what is possible and what is Government policy.

Today, all the ministers are being briefed by the secretaries in the relevant ministries and I think until such a handover process, our Minister of Finance should then start making all these promises.

I do not want Mr Biti to burn out before he starts work, by trying to do too much too early. Afterall, this is a transitional Government as Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai reiterated at Glamis Stadium, soon after the swearing-in ceremony.

Zimbabweans need hope. That is very true. But, Zimbabweans need change they can believe in. More and more promises are not what we need now.

I am yet to hear of proper policy that does not focus on receiving aid from the West. Mr. Biti, when asked where Prime Minister Tsvangirai was going to get the money to fund the civil service payments, said that he (Mr Tsvangirai) “has friends”. That did not sound too encouraging for me. I am not sure if those friends are willing to fund civil servants ‘forever’. We should guard against such quick statements.

With the demise of the free market strategy in the West, the ideas espoused in the RESTART document drafted by Mr Biti will almost be ineffectual.

We cannot go where others are coming from. In any case we all know that privatisation is not always the key to social development. For instance, privatising a rural clinic increases the cost of service provision. Where will our impoverished population get the money to pay for that service?

The West is struggling at the moment and is effectively in recession. Foreign Direct Investment is not going to flow as fast as we would like it to.

The West has also sounded warning notes that this inflow is not going to be as fast as we expect it to be.

Industry cannot be revived in a matter of weeks, so we have to be careful about the promises we make to the people.

Mr Biti has to remember that he is part of a Government. He will not run that ministry on his own and he has to remember that. He will amost face resistance immediately and will have to consult with various Government departments before any policies are approved.

We would like some hope, but we need realism, more than anything. Zimbabweans do not care much about who is a senior or junior partner. They care about material improvement in their lives.

Frank Matimbe
Johannesburg, SA