Much has been said about Bond Notes introduction in
Zimbabwe, the consensus is that “we do not want them”. In other articles I have
written about the consequences Bond Notes introduction in the Zimbabwean
economy. One Twitter user (@Mmalenyalo_) asked a pertinent question, “What is
the better option?” Below is the better options:
Engage the People
The people of Zimbabwe were surprised by the announcement of Bond Notes, it was the first time many outside of ZANUPF circles were hearing about them. The fact that ZANUPF people defended them and proffered answers to them means they were well briefed before the people were made aware. Government policies that do well are those which people have contributed towards and believe in. so Zimbabwe government must go to the people and engage them as the ones who put them where they are. Citizens are the shareholders of a nation & government is the board. As with companies, the shareholders must vote on such pertinent issues, for or against it is their prerogative. In this case the government must have assumed people will reject the Bond Notes and sought to ambush them. The $200 million facility could go down the drain and still Zimbabweans have to pick up the burden of poorly done policy. Zimbabwe government must go back to the drawing board, do a bottom up engagement before launching the notes.Bring Back the Money
The Reserve Bank is on record as saying they know how much
was externalized by companies mostly. If this is the cause of the shortage of
money in the economy it follows that this money should be recovered and brought
into the economy. We cannot solve a problem of externalization by pumping more
money into the economy, soon there will only be Bond Notes left as foreign
currency will still be externalized. Are we going to ask the Afrexim Bank for
another loan facility? After recovery of externalized funds the government must
then look to see if the shortage still persists and determine further causes,
if it is too many unnecessary imports then look at measures to curtail such
although this should only come after effort has been made to stimulate the
exports to match imports.
Seek Funds from Abroad
It is evident the Zimbabwe economy is in dire need of an
injection of foreign currency and the Bond Notes are equal to $200 million. Our
government is broke and has defaulted on repayments to external creditors for a
long time so seeking funds from abroad might seem like hitting a brick wall.
But there is one external source that should still be willing to extend funds to
Zimbabwe. That source is Zimbabweans in the diaspora who number no less than 5million citizens the majority of whom are in South Africa. Zimbabweans in
diaspora are highly resourceful and industrious such that many are able to live
a life that is higher than that of the average citizen. If we take each person
in diaspora giving something to the government there will be a lot of funds
flowing into Zimbabwe. I have had debates with Tendai Biti on his facebook page
chastising him for leaning too much towards the western funding solutions such
as IMF & World Bank, he didn’t take too kindly because he appeared keen to
show himself smart to the guys in USA and Europe. Below is a table I have done
on the assumption that out of all the Zimbabweans in diaspora only 3,500,000
have the financial means to extend money to the government.
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| Insight into Diaspora Potential |
Above I have noted different levels of funding scenarios
e.g. if each of the 3.5 million contribute $10 per month for 6 months the
country would receive $210 million. The ideal would be to get $50 per month for
6 months which would amount to $1 billion. A billion dollars in 6 months is 30%
of the country’s budget, this can revive water reticulation systems in Harare,
equip the major hospitals to almost normal capacity and stimulate the economy.
Of course I can see people objecting to this being possible
as people who went to diaspora left on account of the same government’s failure
and persecution. But the truth is every Zimbabwean whether black, white,
Indian, Coloured or Colourless relish coming back home and would give anything
to hear that their family left behind is doing well and taken care of. The
scariest thing is to hear your loved one in Zimbabwe has been hospitalized in a
government institution, you can almost picture death creeping because the
facilities are run down, would they not pay to ensure proper healthcare? They
certainly would do so.
So Why is Nobody Tapping into Diaspora
Ever since the Government of National Unity there was talk
of engaging the diaspora to help back home, it has all been jaw jaw and no
action. Even at this moment the government is always heard talking about
tapping into the diaspora. What they must know is that the little remittances
they get are for day to day expenses in families. Very little if any is for
investment and capital expenditure. The diaspora have access to credit
facilities, if today government invites monies to invest in road infrastructure
for a stake in ZINARA, I would have no problem approaching the bank for a
personal loan of $3,000 to invest. However the government is paralyzed by fear
and that fear is on account of the following:
Bargaining with Diaspora – the people in diaspora will
obviously not roll out the red carpet for the government, they will bargain
before reaching into their purses. On the negotiating table would be things
like how much stake would be acquired, who will account for the proper use of
the money and most importantly giving diaspora community a say in how the
country is governed. Many would want to have their right to vote guaranteed and
for ZANUPF government 3.5 million people who are mostly to vote opposition is
very frightening.
Being Accountable – the ZANUPF government is used to doing
things its own way, having to become accountable and explain themselves is something
they are not prepared to do. Because of the manner in which ZANUPF goes about
winning elections, they are aware that the wealth of the nation is concentrated
among the people who do not like them. So in pursuit of their own survival they
rather throw the whole country under the bus even though they are unable to
drive the same bus because it is broken down.
Jealous & Hate – these evil twins are prevalent among
Zimbabweans. I always say certain utterances attract certain demons. Everyone
can remember Robert Mugabe mocking people who did not go to the liberation
struggle often calling them sellouts. Never mind that those same people were
feeding and hiding guerillas in their homes, some were in the diaspora. Mugabe
played the same tune to Zimbabweans at home mocking the people who went to the
diaspora and some Zimbabweans caught on to it and label people in the diaspora
sellouts. These are mostly feeling guided by jealousy that those abroad are
doing much better. Now would the same people go around asking for help from
people in the diaspora? Would people in Zimbabwe welcome it that diaspora
citizens recapitalize ZESA, NRZ, ZINWA, Air Zimbabwe in exchange for a stake?
Some might but some will stand against it being jealous that they are getting
ahead of them.
So there are solutions that can revive Zimbabwe’s economy
but the government is not willing to go with them for their own survival. There
is also the element of greed, imagine a minister contracting someone to receive
money so they can setup an appointment with him? That is what Acie Lmumba said
of Patrick Zhuwao. Many people can testify of being asked for a stake if they
went to ministers for help with getting their ideas off the ground. They want
their hands in on everything so much that one wonders where all the money goes,
they are among the highest paid officials in the country but are still chasing
after the little that citizens are trying to make honestly. Unfortunately
Zimbabwe is not the only country in such a situation, many African countries
with a sizeable number in diaspora are on their knees swimming in poverty while
their citizens are doing very well abroad. We saw the likes of Cecil John
Rhodes, John Smith Moffat and Charles Rudd leave United Kingdom and come to
Africa (diaspora). They paved the way for colonization and helped United
Kingdom be what it is today working closely with their Kings and Queens. If you
remove this diaspora element, United Kingdom would not be where it is today,
but we are too blind to see that if we do the same we can revive Africa until
it can be looked to as a great continent.
