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Economy
and society restructured: New formations of labour and capital -
'Progress' in Zimbabwe Conference
Amanda
Atwood, Kubatana.net
November 08, 2010
'Progress' in
Zimbabwe Conference index
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Speaker:
Godfrey Kanyenze
Discussants: Colin Stoneman, Rob Davies
Key Participants:
David Mupamhadzi, Richard Kamidza
Godfrey Kanyenze presented
a sobering review of Zimbabwe's economic decline since the
1980s, and the implications this has had on agriculture, industry,
incomes and inflation. Kanyenze also discussed the development of
economic dualism, in which a developed formal sector operates along
side an underdeveloped rural and informal economy.
Colin Stoneman
noted that historically, in other countries, successful development
has always depended on industrialisation. Zimbabwe had a chance
for this in the 1980s, and was trying to following other late comers'
successful examples. Progress was on the cards. But, Stoneman observed,
the experience since then has been in the opposite direction. The
possibilities of building on what was there before have gone. He
stated that there is no way of trying to resurrect the partial success
story of the 1980's. Not only has Zimbabwe changed, the world
has changed. If we're looking for progress for Zimbabwe in
the future on the basis of industrialisation, he said, it has to
find some alternative mode. The most likely possibility, according
to Stoneman, is that Zimbabwe will be integrated into the global
world system on the latter's terms. In this context, Zimbabwe
is likely to be peripheral and far from autonomous. Progress, Stoneman
indicated, would deliver some small improvement in living conditions,
but not what it could have been.
Listen
Commenting from
the floor, Charity Manyeruke asked how are people in Zimbabwe really
surviving presently? What are they surviving on? She noted that
in the discussion there was an omission of the role that women play
in the economy. She speculated that cross-border trading was not
very attractive before the crisis, but with an increasing reliance
on imports it became big business. Women largely got involved in
retail trading, and were supporting their families - and their
husbands - through this engagement, whereas men were used
to getting employed in formal structures. She observed that there
are psychological and sociological problems men face in failing
to deal with informalisation of the economy.
Listen
Also commenting
from the audience, John Makumbe argued that the political economy
approach cannot just play on the figures in terms of production,
rate of inflation, and so forth. It must also say who are the winners
and who are the losers, and where are they in relation to governance.
He said that people need to go into who is benefiting from this.
Who is losing? It's a staggering figure to say that the rate
of unemployment is 90% in Zimbabwe, and the poverty rate is 92%.
That is what is more devastating. So that when Ibbo Mandaza says
we are doing better than a lot of other countries, he asked, who
is we.
Listen
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