Harare — RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono should be commended for inviting constructive debate over the fate of our national currency, the Zimbabwe dollar.
I make my contributions based on my 33 years practical experience in business, during which time I had the privilege of visiting and reading about other countries across the globe and learn from their situations
I have been in business since 1976, having worked for others for a few years before that and believe that my experience accounts for something
I believe one must start by appealing to the Governor, the media and ultimately the powers in Government to focus our efforts and hopefully the result on doing what will benefit the man in the street.
The second factor is that we must, as a nation; take on the painful reality that the general public has lost confidence in the banking sector thus there is urgent need to restore that lost confidence.
The six months the inclusive Government has been in place have seen inflation drop drastically such that when people talk of inflation or interest rates they talk of single or double digits not the millions if not infinite figures that we had become accustomed to.
One can confidently leave home or the office knowing that they will be able to stop at any shop on their way and be able to pick a loaf of bread and a packet of sugar for the family with the full confidence that the price at which one bought similar items last week will remain the same and sometimes find that these have come down or gone up but marginally, if at all.
Though prices continue to fluctuate, they are still to break the pocket to a point where one walks out of a shop without the goods one intended to buy.
One is equally confident to proceed from the shop knowing they can take the kombi at the same fare they have paid for the last three months (US$0,50 or R5 per trip) and find the family expectant of stock replenishment and this is realised.
There is even the prospect that one will be able to leave money at home for the child to pay fees and that those fees will be at the same level they were last term.
Need I say one can repeat this routine day in day out without being subjected to shock waves where the nation is gripped by high levels of unpredictable seconds ahead it.
One wants to also take comfort in the knowledge that the multi-currency system introduced by Minister Patrick Chinamasa in his capacity as Acting Finance Minister came out of serious thought and consultation. The RBZ, I believe, was consulted on this.
As such, the introduction of the multi-currency system was done by a trusted system and in good faith.
If we all agree on this, then my plea is let us allow this system run its course. Some of us want to believe that the current environment should see us restore our fortunes in less than three years at the outside, half the time it took with the experience of the last six years.
I don't want to be caught up in crediting or discrediting any system as I believe the nation has bled enough and now wants healing, full recovery and growth, not mere posturing at the expense of the many millions of our inhabitants.
But I am not ashamed to say that I believe that the current arrangement will rescue the nation and restore its lost glory. The economic situation had reached pathetic levels.
Border after border had a Zimbabwean dealing or smuggling. With the current multi-currency system, economic victory is certain.
Already we see capacity utilisation having reached levels of 60 percent with production places buzzing with enthusiasm, a rare occurrence during the last six years where most operations saw doom and gloom with massive drops in capacity utilisation. All this in a short space of six months, can we imagine where we will be in the 12 months let alone my projected three years?
One does not have to do much to remind the nation of the speed with which shelves emptied, price controls came but had no effect on hyperinflation. Currency was being traded on streets and in cars and dark alleys; the same applied to goods and services.
At the end of the day, therefore, I am saying a few things: l Experience has it that the last six years have seen agony. Having learnt from that experience, the same Government saw it fit to introduce another currency system, which has brought some commendable results; We see predictability necessary for people to plan and make progress. On this basis I see strong argument for the new order being allowed a chance;
I also feel that the central bank, much as it has the mandate on monetary issues, can't now come and defend a return to that painful experience; We cannot re-introduce the Zimbabwe dollar now unless our factories are roaring at full capacity. If we do that the currency will become worthless in no time.
I deliberately avoided tackling this subject from a technical point as we are really dealing with issues that concern simple men and women in the street like me who know little of some of these technical debates.
Yes, there are economic sanctions, enemy motives and all such like which we must deal with but those must be addressed from a separate platform.
In fact, one writer once said what we learn from experience is that we never learn, and how true.
Chester Mhende is a businessman
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Onesoulzim subscribe to the debate on indigenous monetary solutions to our current financial challenges.
We are all afraid to fail again if we go back to national currency without certainty.
What will we be able to tell our children by failing in the same route again? Hence the adage, Kwadzinorohwa Matumbu .!
Let us also seriously consider that, as we debate on national currency, immeasurable difficulties have visited upon those who can not contribute to information publicly, the rural folk and average earning ordinary citizens.
The solution here requested is to alleviate poverty by stopping butter trade, especially in the communal lands and now creeping into cities.
The solution here sought is to give the worker enough salary to be able to meet monthly obligations on amenities and social demands.
The solution here looked for is to be able to price goods under a dollar and make that changeable dollar available for those who had worked for it.
Re-introduction of national currency may mean coins only, plastic money, credit facilities, or anything which apply and effect easing of life to about 75% of participants in the economy.
We must be extremely careful of triggering inflation again, especially, knowing well that the enemies of state, which is the west, will work to destroy yet again any other indigenous endeavor that will stable farming under the status quo.
The government had done a wonderful insight to introduce multiple currencies at a time things had virtually come to standstill; the same government had also made an oversight that the GNU would unlock international trade through traditional Breton woods institutional systems that was to flood foreign currency in every sector of economy.
Now that we are faced with perennial sanctions and things are not right to the majority, should we just watch until a populist revolt?
Let us strongly support the idea of giving multi-currencies a chance and more creative solutions that augment its short comings.
OneSoul,
Talking about yourself in the third person is one of the first signs of insanity. The others are talking shit, lacking logic and reason, and not understanding things fully.
I guess you have all the bases covered there.
Oh! Its sounding great to get to the nerves of a redneck.
Though the purpose is diverting attention from the discussion here underpinned, these rednecks are real people, only their spirit comes from the devil, they have human feelings too. They cant maintain families because of living much of their lives telling lies. Let us pray for them.
It is no small profession to dedicate ones life insulting people you dont know and will never meet, this is why these mockingbird operatives are always agitated like all mercenaries.
Just why do these Mockingbird Operatives do not want Zimbabwe to have its own currency?
1. The western governments who employ them through CIA are keen to directly fund their regime change propaganda and machinations without converting their money to national currencies to avoid tracking. Tracking is easily used to trace money laundering and drug trafficking and this will expose anti-government activities as once the Westminster Foundation was busted for.
2. A nation without own currency will always have a sub-citizen self-belief thus bearing on investment confidence.
Onesoul:
Didn't you see where this article was printed? The Herald! I thought you believed all the tripe they publish!
I would disagree with anyone who said Zimbabwe should NOT have a sovereign currency (eventually). However, the abandonment of the Zim Dollar was done by ZANU-PF under the somehow enlightened guidence of the acting governor of the RBZ, Comrade Gono (or maybe by Comrade Bob's orders when he realized he couldn't squeeze anything more from the Zim Dollar). If you buy the "party-line" so often to believe it to be true, then why do you disagree now?
The Zim Dollar was only abandoned after ZANU-PF/Mugabe had plundered the state treasury so badly that the Zim Dollar was essentially worthless! The people (remember them?) had no trust in the Zim Dollar and it had effectively stopped being accepted as legal tender - remember that? Remember when the RBZ stopped publishing inflation figures because they simply could NOT keep up with the rapid deflation in the value of the sovereign currency? Don't you remember the lines in front of the banks a mere 12 months ago when there were riots (even among the military) because the value of the money those people had hoped to collect when they got into the line at dawn was suddenly worthless by the time they exited the bank with their withdrawals?
Didn't Comrade Gono himself take out a full page advertisement in the Herald where he admitted stealing the foreign reserve accounts of foreign NGO's to finance his criminal printing of money? What exactly was this money used for? Clearly, it was used to pay the armed forces and "war veterans" for the reign of terror leading up to the so-called "election" of July 2008!
For someone who proclaims such an internal "expertise" of the goings on in Zimbabwe, surely your memory is not so short as to forget what an economic basket case Zimbabwe was only 12 months ago!
Surely it is only the abandonment of the sovereign currency that has saved Zimbabwe to date!
When a truly responsible government takes power that doesn't view the RBZ as it's political piggy-bank to support their own followers to the detriment of the entire nation of Zimbabwe, then some discussion of the reintroduction of the Zim Dollar can occur.
Until then, if people like you want to prematurely re-introduce what was previously a worthless currency, then it is only to line your own pockets or delay the inevitable fall of your protectors/benefactors......
Remember, you are "Totally Empowered!" Onesoul! Comrade Bob himself promised you that you would be............
Besides, THIS article was published in the Herald, why don't you swallow this pablum the way you usually do?
The Herald?How about this?www.swradioafrica.com/pages/misa240809.htm
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