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Munyaradzi
Huni interviews Dr. Gono on the economy
The
Herald
July 11, 2008
http://www.rbz.co.zw/pdfs/Herald_QA.pdf
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Huni:
Dr Gono, the June 27 run-off is over and while the political players
are still talking about the talks on a possible way forward for
Zimbabwe, the general populace has shifted its focus to the reeling
national economy whose negative impact on ordinary people is now
too severe. As Governor of the RBZ, what would you say is the way
forward now in terms of reviving the economy under the prevailing
national, regional and international conditions? Can you also give
a detailed background to the origins of our current difficulties
and at the same time commenting on the views proffered by some analysts
who allege that our problems started with our interventions in the
DRC as well as payments made to our War Veterans in 1997/1998
Dr.
Gono: Our economy has been under siege for almost 10 years
now since the time we began the land identification exercise as
a precursor to the land re-distribution programme in 1997. That
process (land identification) drew adverse reaction from the West,
especially Britain, who went on to adversely influence the World
Bank, IMF, ADB, as well as other Paris Club lenders not to support
Zimbabwe financially and technically. Although two other factors
are cited by the economic historians as having been partly influential
to the genesis of our current state of affairs and the two factors
are the DRC war where, as part of our responsibility and contribution
to regional, continental and international peace and security, we
went into that country as part of a regional coalition of states
to defend its sovereignty and the payment of unbudgeted gratuities
to the war veterans in 1998. To date, the impact of these two events
is often conveniently exaggerated and therefore I will not dwell
on these two factors as they remain peripheral to the main causes
of our situation today. On the exogenous side are the sanctions
that are being applied against the country as a result of the factors
I have already cited above as well as, currently the steep rise
in the price of oil and other forms of energy, the global warming
phenomenon which has produced unpredictable weather patterns, which
have brought about frequent droughts and floods detrimental to crop
production, and animal husbandry, especially in Southern Africa
and Zimbabwe in particular. These irregular weather patterns have
given rise to the current world as well as Zimbabwe food shortages.
To this end strategies will have to be devised in order to deal
with these external factors, and plans are afoot to do so. Under
endogenous factors, our economy has remained hostage to the lack
of unity and lack of one vision among political players in the country,
the diminished presence of economic patriotism showing itself in
the form of the indiscipline and get-rich-quick mentality by most
economic players in the country; in the public and private sectors
of our economy.
All these factors have
led to the introduction of a raft of extraordinary measures on the
part of Government, through its various arms; such as the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe, the Grain Marketing Board and other institutions
under Government's control in an effort to survive. Some of those
extra-ordinary interventions have flown in the face of conventional
economics, while others have, by coincidence, conformed to economic
convention or textbooks theories. In dealing with the challenges
before us, especially under a tightened sanctions regime, it will
be necessary that pragmatism and reality operate side by side, with
technocratic interventions that run side by side with political
idealism. Having said this, however, there are two fundamental background
points arising from your question that must be understood and underscored.
In the first place, and contrary to the propaganda that is often
repeated even by some political groups in the country, that western
economic sanctions have been targeted only at some individuals in
or believed to be associated with the ruling Zanu PF, it is now
common cause that ordinary people in the cities and rural areas
are in fact the helpless victims of these illegal sanctions which
are specifically designed to cause human suffering by precipitating
a humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe which could trigger a generalized
conflict to justify international intervention. This is being done
in the vain hope that economic sanctions would provoke Zimbabweans
into turning against their government. In the second place, the
time has come for all of us to understand that our national economy
does not exist in a vacuum nor does it exist as another world separate
from our national politics.
The economy
and politics are inextricably intertwined such that it does not
make sense for anyone to expect the RBZ to somehow fix the national
economy and turn it around for the better while political players
continue to play bickering games over the way forward. Therefore,
I cannot imagine let alone proffer any way forward in terms of reviving
the economy given the current situation that is not based on and
informed by a political economy of national unity. As such, the
only way forward for our country is for Zimbabweans to come together
and to speak with one voice to foster a national consensus that
puts the country's interests first. For sometime now my team and
I at the RBZ have been calling for a social contract and a spirit
of national healing as the pillars of the way forward not just in
our national economy but also in our national politics. Against
this backdrop, we have been saddened to see how the outcome of the
harmonized elections held on March 29 has led to unprecedented political
disharmony in the country. That cannot be good for the economy.
And so, the prevailing disharmony is very dangerous for our national
survival and we need to confront it with an audacious commitment
to national unity. For that to happen, the political players across
the political divide need to stop being players and start being
leaders who do the right thing for Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans.
I honestly believe that our political leaders know what is right
for Zimbabwe and what remains is for them to seek it with urgency
or risk being judged very harshly by history and posterity.
Huni:
What do you expect to be the bottlenecks and the challenges facing
the nation as it seeks to turnaround the economy?
Dr.
Gono: You know, we are in an extraordinary situation requiring
extraordinary measures. The business-as-usual approach will not
do in this situation. This is because the core issues are no longer
about the conventional economic bottlenecks many of which are very
well known not least because they have been highlighted in virtually
all of my monetary policy statements since December 2003. Yes, we
have to attend to conventional bottlenecks such as foreign exchange
reforms, removing pricing distortions that have adversely affected
producer viability and we need to revamp the financial position
of public utilities while continuing the fight against inflation
among other urgent measures. And even more critically, the current
global instability of food prices dictates that we treat national
food security as our number one priority and thank God we are well
positioned to deal with this challenge because of the considerable
success of our ongoing historic and now irreversible land reform
programme. But, in my respectful view, the major if not the only
bottleneck in our efforts to turnaround the economy is the absence
of the required political will among key national leaders and stakeholders
to do and say the right thing for Zimbabwe and its people. As a
nation, we have become too factionalized while some among us have
become too foreign oriented in their actions and pronouncements.
You cannot have a thriving and vibrant economy in such a situation
even with the best of efforts and intentions from the Reserve Bank.
Huni:
The United States has drafted a resolution that is now before the
United Nations Security Council seeking, among other things, to
freeze personal assets and seeking to extend and internationalize
the current limited travel ban against not only you but President
Mugabe and six other top Government officials. What do you make
of this move by the US administration that is supported by the majority
members of the G8 given your pivotal role in trying to turnaround
the economy?
Dr.
Gono: While I respect the fact that sovereign countries
have a right to take measures in pursuit of their national interests,
I have failed to understand how the world's most powerful nations
have been so blinded by the British government which has a hidden
agenda in Zimbabwe over the land reform programme they wish to reverse
and they have found it within their top priority to make Zimbabwe's
domestic affairs on internally disputed elections their international
business to the point of seeking such misplaced and ill-conceived
sanctions against Zimbabwe. It is a fact that many members of the
United Nations, including the United States itself under its current
President, have for one reason or another held presidential elections
with disputed outcomes that have been judged by some observers to
be neither free nor fair but which, although internally controversial,
have not posed a threat to international peace and thus have not
warranted international intervention in terms of chapter seven of
the United Nations Charter. As I see them, the ongoing efforts instigated
by the British government and led by the United States at the United
Nations to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe on account of a disputed
presidential election would set a very dangerous precedent which
would itself be a very serious threat to international peace.
Conversely,
the fact that there are some Zimbabwean political groups or individuals
that are supporting those efforts is a clear threat to national
unity and stability. Therefore, while the move you mention at the
United Nations is predictable given what we have experienced over
the last few years from the same quarters, it is nevertheless quite
sad to see that the countries seeking economic and other sanctions
against Zimbabwe have abandoned all diplomatic pretence to neutrality
and have decided to be part of the so-called Zimbabwean problem
by taking partisan positions in support of particular Zimbabwean
political players against others instead of bringing them together.
Instead of preventing conflict, they are fomenting it and that is
very sad to see. By the way, it is very instructive to note that
the anti- Zimbabwe sentiment in the G8 is so full of personal hatred
of our national leadership that would lead a neutral observer from
outer space to mistakenly conclude that the Government is sitting
on a deadly nuclear arsenal that is a threat to world peace when
the matter at stake is merely a disputed presidential election which
has not provoked any unrest in the country beyond press statements
from some aggrieved political quarters. Indeed, the disproportionate
and over the top focus on Zimbabwe by the G8 and their surrogates
at the United Nations and elsewhere has led some amazed neutrals
to observe that if the G8 were to pursue their 2007 US$25 billion
pledge to fight poverty and promote development in Africa by 2010
with the same zeal, vigour, enthusiasm and single-minded determination
as they are pursuing the Zimbabwean leadership on account of a domestic
affair over a disputed presidential election, there would be tremendous
progress in realizing the United Nations goals of development across
Africa. At the end of the day, the gist of the matter though is
that any sanctions against Zimbabwe and from whatever international
forum, and however disguised, will only lead to more suffering of
the already suffering ordinary people. It seems to me irresponsible
that the United Nations Security Council should even bring itself
to entertaining such moves whose only impact would be to widen and
deepen the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe at a time when the United
Nations should be at the forefront of solving the very same crisis
in a non partisan manner.
Even so, I
remain optimistic that the current wave of irrational excitement
over Zimbabwe gripping some members of the G8 and their surrogates
will sooner rather than later give way to reason, especially within
the United Nations Security Council. I believe that many rational
voices in the United Nations and indeed within SADC and the African
Union now realize that punitive economic sanctions and other measures
whether personalized or not can only deepen and spread conflict
in Zimbabwe at a time when there are now hopes on the horizon for
a negotiated home-driven settlement to which His Excellency President
Robert Gabriel Mugabe has committed himself and the government.
I have faith in SADC mediation led by President Thabo Mbeki and
I hope the international community will stop sowing divisions and
support his efforts.
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