THE most important message that emanated from Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa’s Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review Statement was that Zimbabwe’s programme of realigning its sanctions-battered economy is slowly taking shape.
But as Minister Chinamasa made the pronouncements in the National Assembly on Thursday, the bane of corruption and sometimes general incompetence was not lost to the ordinary Zimbabwean who pines for a fully-functional economy.
Apart from the widely discredited sanctions afflicting the economy, it would be foolhardy for any progressive Zimbabwean to ignore the continued, but seemingly ignored, challenges posed by corruption.
Corruption is the evil in our midst and as long as it is not addressed, it will continue to be an albatross around our already burdened necks.
We have to do something about this social evil.
We have to act now.
Things are not looking good and the drastic measures proposed by Minister Chinamasa must be embraced by the ruling ZANU PF Party, especially in the context of the forthcoming and hugely awaited 2018 elections.
The question that must immediately strike the minds of the ruling Party is: Are we in the right direction?
The Party is in the right direction.
This is so given the attention that has been given to one of the key sectors of the economy, agriculture, through the Command Agriculture initiative.
Minister Chinamasa revealed that the programme, being spearheaded by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, will be boosted by a US$85 million facility largely funded by the private sector.
The Special Maize Production Programme is targeting a two-million tonne annual output
That is a welcome development given that food security has been a challenge afflicting the country.
But it is the overall outlook that is shocking and scary.
The reality, is the economy is not performing to expectations.
Put simply, we have an economy in dire need of urgent stimulation for it to start ticking.
This means an introspection of our policies and most importantly, how we have conducted ourselves as a Nation.
Minister Chinamasa was bold in his presentation last Thursday.
Currently we are in an unsustainable consumptive position where civil service salaries are gobbling a staggering 96,8 percent of revenue collected.
Herein lies the challenge.
Where Minister Chinamasa proposes to shed 25 000 jobs; does this bode well with ZANU PF’s July 31 2013 harmonised election pledge of creating 2,2 million jobs?
How many potential votes would be lost through this exercise?
There is always this political aspect to the whole scenario that must forever be looked at.
Cabinet has already approved this and this is expected to reduce baseline public employment costs by US$118 million by year end.
“The Public Service Wage Bill rationalisation measures being implemented by Government effective January 1 2016 constitute the first instalment of measures towards the gradual reduction of fiscal revenues required to support wage expenditures,” Minister Chinamasa said.
“From the measures already approved by Government, those instituted with effect from July 1 2016 will yield additional monthly savings of about US$6,9 million.
“To this end, cumulative financial savings realised to the end of August 2016 amounted to US$64,4 million.
“This will culminate in overall monthly savings of US$14,7 million translating into projected annual savings of around US$118 million.”
Minister Chinamasa would cut the wage bill by 20 percent and lower the salaries and allowances of Ministers and senior Government officials by between five and 20 percent.
Minister Chinamasa’s reforms have the potential to unlock funding from multilateral financial institutions.
“In view of the above revenue constraints, against expenditure pressures, implementation of the 2016 National Budget inevitably requires further fiscal reforms in order to rebalance expenditures with anticipated revenues, including rationalising public expenditures, as well as the reduction of employment costs in favour of capital and social spending,” Chinamasa said.
“In this regard, the Medium-Term Public Service Wage Policy target is to reduce the consolidated wage bill – wages and salaries for central government plus wage-related transfers to grant-aided institutions – to around 60 percent of revenue by 2019, thereby creating additional fiscal space to support service delivery and growth – enhancing infrastructural spending.”
The retrenchments will see the current civil service head count of 298 000 reduced to 273 000.
“The target to reduce employment numbers from the current 298 000 to 273 000 by end of 2017 will yield annual savings of US$155 million, which would go towards supporting various development projects and programmes,” he said.
Government also moved to rationalise mobile phone and telephone allowances as well as standardisation of fuel benefits for members entitled to personal issue vehicles.
Under Minister Chinamasa’s new measures, Government vehicles will be required to be parked at work stations and police stations after working hours, during weekends and public holidays and rationalisation of purchase and issuance of newspapers and reading material across all grades.
“However, in order to further buttress the above cost-cutting measures, Government has adopted further expenditure rationalisation measures in order to maintain the momentum for reforming the wage bill, targeting it at 50 percent of total revenues in the medium-term,” Minister Chinamasa said.
“The respective adopted expenditure rationalisation measures are meant to reinforce the supply-side measures proposed in this Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review, sustain the wage bill, while creating scope for financing drought, debt service and other capital and operations programmes.”
When all is said and done, it is corruption that continues to hamper efforts to revive the economy.
Action must be taken soon.
Let those with ears listen.