|
Back to Index
This article participates on the following special index pages:
Talks, dialogue, negotiations and GNU - Post June 2008 "elections" - Index of articles
Zimbabwe economic recovery and Ministry of Home Affairs
Gilbert
Muponda, The Zimbabwe Tribune
November 03, 2008
View article
on the Zimbabwe Tribune website
There is a causal
link between Zimbabwe's economic melt-down and the breakdown of
the rule of law. The Ministry of Home Affairs has to be under untainted
hands if the economy is to attract investors and increase production.
ZANU-PF maintains that the real cause of the economic meltdown is
the sanctions regime under which the country has been left with
no choice but to resort to unorthodox economic and political methods.
It is my contention that a link clearly exist between economic performance
and the respect of the rule of law. The imposition of the will of
the former ruling party on the country has taken many forms including
the passage of laws that promote and entrench partisanship and the
use of state power to interfere with the bill of rights enshrined
in the constitution of the country. This has resulted in widespread
violation of private property rights which is the cornerstone of
any market based economy. Through-out human history there has never
been a lawless society that has economically succeeded. Its unlikely
Zimbabwe will be the first one to succeed in an environment characterized
by property and human rights being non-existent. Lawlessness breeds
poverty and unstable economic environment.
The separation
of powers doctrine, a fundamental requirement in any constitutional
democracy, is no longer applied in contemporary Zimbabwe. The selective
use of the law to punish and reward targeted persons undermines
the rule of law, which reduces investment in the economy. The shocking
breakdown of the rule of law has had its own adverse effects on
economic performance.
The break down
of the rule of law was particularly apparent in the destruction
of the Agricultural sector which led to Wide spread disruptions
on Agricultural production. Whilst land reform was absolutely necessary
its implementation accompanied by law breaking and court orders
being ignored and the Ministry of Home affairs mostly doing nothing
exacerbated the economic decline. Confidence building critical to
attract investment and restore Economic growth .There is need for
new investment to increase production and tame Zimbabwe's record
setting hyper-inflation.
Law and order
is a basic requirement of any functioning modern society. Unfortunately,
the Ministry of Home affairs which has the responsibility of maintaining
law and order has done such a bad job that the former ruling party
cannot and should not be entrusted with this critical ministry if
Zimbabwe is going to re-join the international community and regain
lost glory due to the reputation acquired by due to the failure
of this ministry to uphold the law.
From around
year 2000, economic slide was accompanied by the break down of the
rule of law starting with invading productive farms most of which
had not even been gazzetted. And during that period company invasions
increased. This led to the resignation of the then Minister of Industry
and Commerce Dr Nkosana Moyo It was clear then that without rule
of law there won't be any economic prosperity and it's clear now
that the Ministry needs fresh ideas and focus and direction and
it has to be made aware of the critical role it will play in Zimbabwe's
economic recovery by creating conducive business environment by
fair application of the rule of law.
Foreign direct
investment will not increase if there is no rule of law. Foreign
aid which has been critical in various sectors is unlikely to come
if there is no culture reform and a serious attempt to rebuild confidence
in the law enforcement agencies which are part of the Ministry of
Home Affairs.
Brain drain
has resulted in massive loss of skill and experience. Its unlikely
this will be reversed if the conditions that have been allowed to
make Zimbabwe very hostile to skilled and experienced employees
are not addressed.
Capital flight
will continue as long as there is perception of lawlessness and
selective application of the law. This means the Ministry of home
affairs needs a culture change and has to be under a different party
to manage that change and improve perception that the law will be
applied uniformly.
During the stage
managed anti-graft campaign of 2003-4, the Ministry of Home affairs
through the Zimbabwe Republic Police (an institution whose credibility
is in tatters) facilitated and enabled a massive wealth transfer
with several business people either arrested, threatened with arrest
or haunted out of the country. Whilst this was hailed at the time
it had a negative impact on the economy, investor confidence and
caused brain drain and partially reversed economic gains.
The ministry
of Home affairs through ZRP instead of investigating first, they
proceeded to arrest so as to investigate .Whilst these arrests were
going on a record number of businesses changed hands under controversial
circumstances. Such events affect investor sentiment and confidence.
Below is the partial list of the businesses that changed hands courtesy
of the Ministry of Home affairs:
- Royal BANK
from J.Muzwimbi to Government of Zimbabwe
- Barbican
Bank Dr M.Ncube to Government of Zimbabwe
- Trust Bank
- Shabanie
Mashaba Mines from ARL to Government of Zimbabwe
- Kondozi
Farm
- Century
Bank Holdings from ENG Capital to RBZ Governor, Dr Gono and Mr.
Sean Maloney
- First Mutual
Life
- CFI Holdings
- Intermarket
Holdings from Transnational Holdings to Government owned ZB Holdings
- Zimre Holdings
This made global
news headlines, whilst it seemed normal, it wasn't in that it highlighted
the lack of uniformity in application of the law. This generally
fed into the perception that it's risky to invest in Zimbabwe because
there is no rule of law. And to change this perception it's imperative
that the law enforcement function be reformed and be under an untainted
custodian.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
