In Search of Zimbabwe Economic Dexterity

At some point, our very own, the late Dr. Bernard Chidzero, was thought of as the best economic minister on the continent. In fact he was held in such high esteem that he almost landed the post of United Nations Secretary General. However his economic policies were not quite successful, for they ignored the socio-political context. Indeed, the lesson learnt during that period was that one cannot implement textbook economics without fully taking on board the socio-political context

Somethings never change! Almost all advice that has been volunteered by all and sundry on how to deal with the economic malaise falls short on this very same aspect. For example, how does one prescribe western FDI as the solution when one knows very well that this is not going to happen because of the political context. What the country needs right now is not theory but practical economic propositions that take into account our political context.

In this regard, Dr Gono must be commended for sustaining this economy with creative solutions during his tenor as RBZ Governor. He fully grasped that the country was at war with the west and tailor-made solutions within the political context. That is the economic leadership we require today.

It is in this view, that I would suggest that we need such a person to steer the economy at this particular point. We have some great minds in this country which includes Dr Gono, Mr Muchadeyi A. Masunda and Dr Shingi Munyeza. These are examples of visionary leaders. We need to give them space to assist in lifting this economy out of the pit and miry clay. I would argue that Dr Gono should be our economic minister at this point in time because of his broad understanding of the economic, political and social issues and his ability to contextually use these to creatively model an economic blueprint that will move the country forward. Unfortunately, our current economic blueprint ZimAsset is a good example of textbook economics with no practical solutions to move the country forward.

My argument is when in the middle of a war, the question is how do we win the war; the least answer one expects is that let's stop the war. You don't cease fire unless the enemy agrees to a ceasefire. You come up with winning strategies, and continue to modify the strategies in line with the existing terrain.