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Speech by PM Tsvangirai at the book launch of "Beyond the Enclave"
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
June 30, 2011

Deputy Prime Ministers Hon. Arthur Mutambara and Hon. Thokozani Khupe

Executive secretary of SATUCC, Mr Austin Muneka

Alternative to Neo-Liberalism in Africa (ANSA) co-ordination committee and authority members

President of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions

President of the Mauritius Trade Unions

President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions

Government ministers here present

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am happy to be with you today to celebrate this newest book by Zimbabweans yearning for a bright future for this country and its citizens.

I am heartened by the continued desire to explore new frontiers on how best we can maximize production, increase employment levels, eradicate poverty and guarantee a great future for ourselves and future generations.

The book that we launch here today, Beyond the Enclave: A pro poor and inclusive development strategy for Zimbabwe, represents our national quest to seek the best economic model that can drive our country forward by unlocking our great potential.

The new book, a sequel to Beyond ESAP, must form the basis for fresh debate on how government, the private sector and labour can work together to make Zimbabwe realize its potential by coming up with policies driven and underpinned by the interests of the marginalized in our society.

The book captures interesting scenarios which expose a disturbing paradox about our situation as a country.

Zimbabwe's climate was voted 'the best climate on Earth' alongside Malta in the International Living magazine's 2011 Quality of Life Index published in January ranking 192 countries.

Yet a month later, Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare was considered the 'least livable city in the world,' by the Economist Intelligence Unit's 'world's most livable cities' survey of 140 cities across the globe. The ranking took into consideration stability, economy, health care, and infrastructure.

In the 2010 Global Human Development Report, Zimbabwe came last among the 169 countries ranked on the basis of their human development index, a composite index comprising indicators of longevity (life expectancy at birth), knowledge (adult literacy and average years of schooling) and income.

Zimbabwe with "the best climate on earth" while Harare is rated "the least livable city in the world" captures one paradox.

It showcases Zimbabwe's abundant yet unexploited mineral resources present another.

In short, we are very poor even though we are very rich.

This book sets out to unravel this contradiction of rich and diverse resource endowments co-existing with endemic poverty, misery amidst plenty.

It is shameful to any government that our people could live in with so much poverty, surviving on less than US$1 a day, when the country is endowed with so many riches.

This is the reason why some us have voiced concern that there is no way we can fail to pay civil servants and to resuscitate collapsed infrastructure when every day sophisticated extractive machinery is opening the country's belly in Chiadzwa.

Where are all the proceeds going? Who is pocketing the proceeds from our national resources, which must benefit all Zimbabweans in their diversity?

Surely national resources cannot be private property of a few people for their own personal benefit while the generality of Zimbabweans is struggling to put a meal on the table.

The book assesses the journey the economy has followed since independence through three main phases. In the first decade of independence, 1980-90, government pursued a strong social policy framework, especially with respect to education and health, which was difficult to sustain due to erratic growth.

The next major policy experiment, the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP), 1991-96, witnessed a paradigm shift as government adopted a market-driven approach to development. This reversed the gains of the 1980s in the social arena.

The third phase can hardly be described as a period of policy coherence. It is characterized by crises and crisis-management practices. A series of knee-jerk, fire-fighting reaction policies were marked by policy inconsistencies, contradictions and reversals.

Not surprisingly, such policy incoherence saw the economy descend into hyperinflation in August 2007, and paralysis in 2007-2008, leading to the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) by the three main political parties in September 2009 following the contested elections of 2008.

The Inclusive Government which took office in March 2009 succeeded in stabilizing the economy. Economic recovery after the adoption of the multi-currency regime has remained fragile, however, against a backdrop of slow governance reforms.

Therefore, despite the notable and significant respite following the formation of the inclusive government, the economy remains locked in a poverty trap. Going forward, there is need to facilitate transition towards policy commitment to rapidly growing employment in the formal sector with decent jobs that pay a living wage. With the level of resources Zimbabwe has, no citizen should suffer and live in poverty. As Zimbabweans, we must take responsibility for their own destiny. Stewardship of Zimbabwe's abundant mineral resources in a way that will benefit both current and future generations of Zimbabweans while at the same time care for the well-being of the planet will present new and difficult challenges "Beyond the Enclave" argues for a new approach to development in Zimbabwe based on pro-poor and socially inclusive strategies that will contribute to the well-being of all of its citizens and wise stewardship over all of its resources.

The book offers suggestions on policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in multiple sectors all designed to promote inclusive growth and humane development.

I hope that some of the suggestions in this book will find life in government policy.

As a government, particularly the economic ministries, we stand to benefit from the many ideas in the book which have been informed by both our collective negative and positive experience as a country.

I am told the pro-poor and inclusive development strategy encapsulated in this book is predicated on the following 10 principles:

i. It is a people-led strategy.

ii. It presents an alternative production system primarily based on domestic demand and human needs and the use of local resources and domestic savings.

iii. A grassroots-led regional integration

iv. Strategic engagement with the international community in order to protect and advance national and regional interests;

v. An alternative policy on science and technology based on harnessing the collective knowledge and wisdom of the people;

vi. Forging of strategic alliances and networks with progressive forces at national, regional and global levels;

vii. A politically governed redistribution of wealth and opportunities from the formal to the non-formal sectors of the economy;

viii. Women's rights as the basis for a healthy and productive society;

ix. An education system that addresses the needs for sustainable human development by improving technical, managerial, research and development skills;

x. The creation of a dynamic, participatory and radical democracy, which regards peoples' mobilization, demonstrations, open hearings as part of the struggle for an ethical and developmental state.

It is indeed a great book and it is my singular honour and pleasure to officially launch "Beyond the Enclave: A Pro Poor and Inclusive Development Strategy for Zimbabwe."

I thank you

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