By Prosper Munyedza

THE key to unlocking real value in a resource-constrained economy largely hinges on changing the ‘business as usual approach’.
The Zimbabwean economy can be currently characterised as a seriously constrained economy.
Liquidity constraints are deep seated hence our incessant lamentations on a daily basis.
Savings have generally dwindled in an economy where the majority is living below the poverty datum line.
Once savings take a nose dive, investment, particularly the domestic variety, which is the flipside of savings, also takes a knock.
Industrial capacity utilisation is at an all-time low and this negatively impacts on the employment levels in the country.
Banks are clamouring for more savings as a number of companies are failing to pay their workers consistently at the end of every month.
This is the current state of affairs.
But, working together as a resolute people carving a glorious future for ourselves should not be viewed as a flight of fancy on any reasonable person’s part.
During crisis times, one must dig deeper into one’s reserves to come up with not just survival tactics, but strategies that will make one stand up and be counted among the thriving lot of the world.
At a time such as this, we need an ‘all hands on deck’ approach in every sector of the economy.
We cannot afford business leaders with brains that are on vacation while maintaining top positions in organisations or tugs-of-war during crises times.
As business leaders we ought to rally behind such strategies as would see us standing up to be counted among today’s big boys economically like that which currently is happening to those in Dubai and Japan, just to mention, but two places among many.
We need to ask ourselves serious questions.
Having asked ourselves how we got ourselves where we are: answers have to be proffered.
One such question which we must promptly ask ourselves and answer is: are we deploying our resources to areas where they are best fitted for and maximum benefits are likely to be derived?
We need to embark on an exercise I would loosely term key industry selection and mapping.
This involves analysing our key industries and coming up with a list of those that, if resources are injected therein, have the potential to generate significant returns promptly which would readily be used to then re-capacitate other industries.
Almost akin to low lying fruits that can easily be picked and eaten to energise the fruit picker for the more arduous task of picking fruit that is higher up the fruit tree.
At times when all one has is, but a few resources, there’s need for focusing the strategic deployment of those resources.
Imagine, what would happen were we to deploy the best of our resources (both human and non-human) to those industries which the resources are best suited for and have the potential to tip international trade in our favour in the shortest possible time?
For argument’s sake, if we could reduce our import bill on agricultural products and thereby reduce the conceptual exportation of labour that results from a huge import bill, by re-capacitating our key agricultural producers, in no time we could well be on our way to easing the liquidity crunch currently distressing us. The liquidity crunch is currently fuelled by the current economic impossibility of having the currencies we would have gleaned from our imports circulating in the economy.
Once, the country acquires some currency, our neighbours smilingly applaud all our efforts in the knowledge that as soon as we want to feed the nation we will surrender those dollars, euros or rand that we would have received for our exports in exchange for grocery items!
Most agricultural products do not necessarily take forever to plant and harvest; rallying our resources behind such ventures in the very short run may enable us to reap dividends sooner rather than later.
However, this resource allocation should not be extended to every person who claims to be a farmer, but only to those who have the capacity and have demonstrated that they can really produce!
Once we have really kick-started those short-term engines of growth and re-invested the rewards there-from, we can then channel our resources to the medium-term growth engines then ultimately to the long-term ones.
As we do this, corruption must be promptly nipped in the bud as it is a serious cancer that can garrotte the whole developmental initiative.
One way of effectively dealing with corruption is to ensure that those who are purveyors of the rot and have been legally implicated are promptly and publicly brought to book.
Such an approach will send a message to would-be shameless practitioners of the rot referred to as corruption to perish the thought.
If those among us who are non-corrupt leaders and society just sit by and watch as corruption and its ugly cousin, nepotism, feed themselves to giant statures on resources meant for the populace, we can talk and write till we have used up all the words in our vocabularies yet remain entrenched in the same pit of poverty for the masses we find ourselves in currently.
History is good.
It potentially points us to the possible pitfalls that we may need to avoid lest we repeat the same mistakes committed by ourselves or others in the past. However, we should avoid moving forward with our eyes permanently glued to our backs.
There are times when we need to bury our differences, whether political, religious or otherwise and together as a people work towards re-building our economic ruins.
Foreign direct investment is not that bad, especially when locally, we are not currently able to mobilise most of the resources that we need to really kick start our economy.
Foreign direct investment, of course the type that is favourable for us, could be used as a means of push-starting our economy.
The questions to ask ourselves are:
Have we exhausted luring all our potential investors?
Have we courted all the potential investors we could in our quest to have investment shored up in our country?
Are there mistakes we have made in crafting one or so pieces of legislation?
If so, why not change some provisions so as to attract investors?
Crises times are hardly times for stroking one’s ego.
Have we gone investor hunting as much as we possibly could?
Our geographical location gives us an advantage in our quest to become the transport nerve centre of SADC.
We could leverage that.
The proposed crude oil pipeline project envisaged is a welcome start.
We need to get into more such projects that utilise our God-given natural resources to their best potential.
As a country we need to ensure that those who are not performing, especially at the top, are given a relief from the cumbersome burdens placed upon their unwilling shoulders.
Lately, we have witnessed a wave of public exposures of errant executives who have been excessively rewarding themselves and the country has been given promises that such behaviour will be dealt with.
This should not end at promises.
If those who have promised to ‘deal’ with the counter-productive practices deliver on their promises and sanity is given room to prevail, we may have a mindset shift thereby unlocking some resources for value creation and addition in all sectors.
Times like the ones we are in have no room for greedy and corrupt people.
Let’s change our mindsets.
Let’s weed out the corrupt elements among and especially on top of us in all sectors of business.
Let’s carve our way to the top with all the carving instruments at our disposal, be it our sweat, our intellect even our diplomacy.
Nothing is insurmountable with God on our side and willingness on our part, we will soon become the envy of many a country in the region!
Let’s revive our economy!
Prosper Munyedza, MSc B. Ana & Fin (Uni. of Leicester), BSc Econ (Hon) (UZ). The above captures his personal views. For feedback, email: pmunyedza@yahoo.com