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1. BH24 Reporter
HARARE – Government has set
in motion processes to improve
the flexibility of wage determi-
nation in the country, an official
has said.
Labour experts have raised con-
cerns that the country’s current
wage determination system is
not investor-friendly as it does
not yet fully take into consider-
ation the factor of productivity,
despite the promulgation of the
Labour Amendment Act last
year. In this respect, Govern-
ment says it is speeding up
the process of setting up the
Zimbabwe National Productivity
Institute.
In a speech read on her behalf
by the permanent secretary in
the Ministry of Public Service,
Labour and Social Welfare Mr
Ngoni Masoka, Minister Prisca
Mupfumira said ZNPI will
develop scientific methodologies
to determine productivity-based
collective bargaining. The
speech was read at the official
opening of the ‘Wage Structure
and Labour Costs in Zimbabwe
study report validation work-
shop.
“My Ministry...has already
started laying the groundwork
for revamping the legal and
institutional framework for wage
determination in the country.
“The Labour Amendment Act
passed last year streamlines
the issues of competitiveness
and productivity into the wage
determination processes.
“The provisions on collective
bargaining now compel parties
engaged in wage negotiations
either at the Works Council
(company) or at the Employ-
ment Council (industry) level
to take into account at the
foremost levels of productivity
in setting remuneration levels,”
News Update as @ 1530 hours, Thursday 07 April 2016
Feedback: bh24admin@zimpapers.co.zwEmail: bh24feedback@zimpapers.co.zw
Govt expediting Zimbabwe National Productivity Institute establishment
Minister Prisca Mupfumira

2. Blanket Mine’s Q1 output up 8pc
2 news
BH24 Reporter
HARARE -The Gwanda-based
gold producer Blanket Mine’s
production rose by 8 percent
to 10 822 ounces of gold in
the quarter to March 31, 2016
from 9 960 ounces in the prior
comparable period.
The mine’s latest production
figures were however 6 percent
lower than output in the quarter
to December 31, 2015.The fully
indigenised miner, which is
49 percent-owned by Cana-
da-headquartered Caledonia
Mining Corporation has a gold
production target of around 50
000 ounces for this year.
Caledonia said quarterly pro-
duction for the remainder of
the year is expected to increase
progressively to approximately
14 000oz by the fourth quarter
of this year as production from
below 750 meters increases
over the course of 2016.
It added that sales for the first
quarter will include production
from the quarter plus the work
in progress brought forward
from last year of 671 ounces.
Caledonia CEO Mr Steve Curtis
despite declining from the pre-
vious quarter, the mine’s gold
output in this first quarter was
ahead of target for the period.
"Production in the first quar-
ter was slightly higher than
planned, although lower than
the previous quarter due to the
combined effects of the New
Year and Easter holiday periods.
"Towards the end of the first
quarter, production commenced
from below 750 meters via the
No. 6 Winze and an additional
decline development into the
AR South ore body. We remain
on target to achieve our full
year production target of 50
000 ounces," he said.●
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she said.
“In order to enhance this provi-
sion, my Ministry is working flat
out to expedite the establish-
ment of the ZNPI. The produc-
tivity Institute when fully oper-
ational will promote productivity
related rewards in industry as
well as its measurement.
“The concept is to come up
with scientifically determined
benchmarks in order to facili-
tate productivity-based collec-
tive bargaining.” Zimbabwe is
in urgent need to improve its
labour market efficiency.
According to the World Economic
Forum’s Global Competitiveness
Report 2014 -2015, Zimbabwe’s
overall labour market efficiency
was ranked 137 out of 144
countries.
And the country ranked in the
bottom three in respect of hiring
and firing practices, flexibility
of wage determination, and pay
and productivity indicators.●

3. BH243

4. BH244

5. By Funny Hudzerema
HARARE–Government should
introduce biometric payroll
registration for public sector
workers and pensioners to
reduce its huge wage bill
which is consuming most of
the country’s budget senior
economist with the Labour
and Economic Development
Research Institute of Zimba-
bwe Prosper Chitambara has
said.
Mr Chitambara said the
biometric payroll system will
allow Government to reduce
the wage bill through remov-
ing ghost workers and man-
aging people’s salaries with
Government’s requirements.
“Government should under-
take a process of biometric
payroll registration of all the
public service. This has been
implemented in a number
of African countries such as
Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya as
part of their payroll audits.
“Through the use of biome-
trics public service employ-
ees and pensioners can be
accurately identified and
remove ghost workers from
the payroll,” he said.
Countries such as Nige-
ria and Kenya, which have
put in place the policy to
strengthen pay roll admin-
istration, have been able to
reduce their public sector
wage bill by 20 percent and
25 percent respectively.
He was speaking during
a validation workshop on
wage structure and labour
cost study organised by the
National Economic Consulta-
tive Forum (NECF).
Last year Government intro-
duced an audit of the pay-
ment system of state enter-
prises and parastatals but
the exercise is yet to yield
tangible results as senior
officials in the institutions
are still earning high salaries
according to the report.
Mr Chitambara said Govern-
ment should also consider
reducing the number of min-
istries.
“This is motivated and jus-
tified in terms of the size
of the economy as well as
the relatively low population
size.
“Countries such as Sierra
Leone and Uganda have
taken the bold action of
closing about a third of their
ministries,” he said.
In Kazakhstan in 1997, a
presidential decree reduced
the number of ministries
from 21 to 14 and the num-
ber of government bodies
from 47 to 24.
The report indicated that
the Zimbabwe’s wage bill is
among other African coun-
tries comparing to Zambia
and Botswana.
The workshop concurred with
the findings of the study that
the public sector wage bill
paused a serious threat to
fiscal and macro-economic
stability as the country has
one of the highest public
sector employment costs in
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
For instance, in 2014, the
growth in the public wage bill
was 16,5 per cent compared
to the real GDP growth rate
of 3,1 per cent for the same
year.
The report also recommends
that Government resuscitates
the National Productivity
Institute (NPI), Alignment
of the public service sal-
ary negotiations with the
National Budget process and
gazetting a Statutory Instru-
ment (SI) Limiting parastatal
and municipal wages.●
5 news
Govt urged to introduce biometric payroll for civil servants

6. BH246

7. HARARE –The Government is
conducting an investigation into
the disposal of shareholding by
Rio Tinto in its Zimbabwe oper-
ations Murowa Diamond Mine
and Sengwa Colliery last year,
a senior Government official
said on Wednesday.
Last year global mining giant
Rio Tinto, announced the dis-
posal of its 78 percent share-
holding in Murowa Mine in the
Midlands town of Zvishavane,
and a 50 percent stake in
Sengwa coal fields.
RioZim, a listed local independ-
ent mining company, controlled
the remaining shares in both
Murowa and Sengwa coal
fields, the site for a planned 1
400 megawatt thermal power
station
“Rio Tinto has completed the
sale of its 78 per cent interest
in Murowa Diamonds and 50
per cent interest in Sengwa
Colliery Ltd (Sengwa) to RZ
Murowa Holdings Limited,”
the company said when it
announced its exit.
But, the statement did not
shed light on Rio Zim Murowa,
the company which Rio Tinto
sold its shareholding to. And,
during a question and answer
session in the National Assem-
bly on Wednesday, Mines and
Mining Development Deputy
Minister Fred Moyo said the
Government was now seeking
clarity on how the transaction
was carried out.
“We are still verifying the
manner in which the shares
changed hands,” he said.
Deputy Minister Moyo said
because the matter was still
under investigation, no further
information could be availed on
the transaction.
Recently, the Zvishavane based
miner assured its stakeholders
that the February government
directive for all diamond mining
companies in Chiadzwa and
Chimanimani to halt production
did not affect it.
“Our attention has been drawn
to the press statement of 22
February 2016 made by the
Minister of Mines and Mining
Development, Honorable Wal-
ter Chidhakwa on the above
matter. We hereby wish to
advise all our stakeholders who
include our financiers, suppli-
ers, shareholders and employ-
ees that Murowa Diamonds is
not part of what the Minister
said,” the company said in a
statement. In February dia-
mond mining companies in Chi-
adzwa and Chimanimani were
told to cease operations and
were given 90 days to remove
their machinery from the sites
after they resisted Government
proposals to merge their oper-
ations.
Government is taking over the
affected mining companies,
in which it had 50 percent
shareholding, and proceeding to
merge them into the Zimbabwe
Consolidated Diamond Company
in a move meant to improve
revenue inflows and transpar-
ency- New Ziana ●
7 news
Govt investigating Murowa sale

8. BH24 Reporter
HARARE -The upsurge in net
incurred claims resulted in a
54,94 percent decline in after
tax profit for short-term insur-
ers to $4,62 million for the year
ended 31 December 2015 from
$10,25 million during the prior
period.
According to the latest Non-
life report for 2015 released
by the Insurance and Pension
Commission profits were also
affected by unrealised losses in
investments which amounted to
$5,60 million and $1,84 million
respectively.
“The increase in unrealized
losses can be explained by the
poor performance of the finan-
cial markets during the year
under review,” IPEC said.
The industry average return
on assets (ROA) and return
on equity of (ROE) deterio-
rated from 5,73 percent and
13,16 percent for the year
ended December 31, 2014 to
2,54 percent and 5,78 percent
respectively, for the year under
review.
The non-life insurance indus-
try however witnessed a 3,21
percent growth in terms of
Gross Premium Written (GPW)
from $208,02 million for the
year ended December 31, 2014
to $214,71 million for the year
under review.
Health and farming recorded the
highest percentage reduction
in gross premium while hire
purchase and bonds reported
the highest percentage growths
in GPW.
“There were no significant
changes in the distribution of
business generated by non-life
insurers with fire and motor
insurance remaining the major
sources of business.
“The two business classes
accounted for a total of 61,61
percent of total gross premium
written,” IPEC said.●
8 news
Profit after tax for short term insurer fall 55pc

9. HARARE -The mainstream
industrial index added to
yesterday's gains with a
0.35 jump to 97.75 points.
Driving the upward move-
ment was Fidelity Life,
which rose $0,0130 to close
at $0,1030, while giant tele-
coms Econet added $0,0050
to $0,2550 and FBC Holdings
closed higher at $0,0652
after a $0,0023 gain.
Giant retailer OK Zim also
traded in the positive, after
a $0,0018 rise to trade at
$0,0390 and Meikles edged
up $0,0002 to $0,0712.
There was only one coun-
ter in the red as Old Mutual
lost $0,0019 to settle at
$2,2100.
The mining remained flat at
19.69 as Bindura, Falgold,
Hwange and RioZim main-
tained previous price lev-
els at $0,0102, $0,0050, $0,0300 and $0,1040 respectively
.- BH24 Reporter ●
ZSE9
Industrials extend gains

10. Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
Fidelity Life 14.44 10.30 Old Mutual -0.08 221.00
OK Zim 4.83 3.90
FBCH 3.65 6.52
Econet 2.00 25.50
Meikles 0.28 7.12
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 97.40 97.75 +0.35 points +0.36%
Mining 19.69 19.69 +0.00 points +0.00%
10 zse tables
ZSE
Indices
Stock Exchange
Previous
today

11. 11 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
07 April 2016
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 520 MW
Kariba 453 MW
Harare 30 MW
Munyati 16 MW
Bulawayo 23 MW
Imports 0 - 400 MW
Total 1332 MW
Upcoming AGM
• Falgold, KPMG Building, Corner 14th Avenue/Josiah Tongogara Street, Bulawayo,13 April, 1000hrs
THE BH24 DIARY

12. ABUJA/LAGOS - Nigerian
President Muhammadu Buhari
will sign a loan deal with
China during a visit next
week, his spokesman said
on Wednesday, helping to
finance badly-needed infra-
structure projects.
"I can't tell you how much
until the day the loan will
be signed," spokesman Femi
Adesina said. "Both coun-
tries will also be signing
some bilateral agreements to
strengthen their relationship,
that is all I can say now."
Nigeria, which has been
hit hard by a slump in oil
prices, has been in talks with
China's state export import
bank for a loan for months.
A financial source said the
loan would fund construc-
tion works of Chinese firms
for infrastructure projects in
Nigeria.
In February, financial and
government sources said the
loan could be as high a $2
billion but officials have not
provided an update since
then.
Nigeria has said it wants to
raise about $5 billion abroad
to cover part of its 2016
budget deficit which could
be as high as 3 trillion naira
($15 billion). Buhari has not
signed the 2016 budget bill
yet as he still awaits details
from parliament which
passed it last month.
Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Lu Kang had
earlier said in Beijing that
Buhari would visit China from
April 11-15 to sign "coopera-
tion agreements" and attend
a business forum. He gave
no details
- Reuters●
regioNAL News12
Nigeria's Buhari to sign loan deal from China during visit next week: spokesman
Rand firmer
JOHANNESBURG - South Afri-
ca's rand firmed slightly early
today as investors bought into
riskier but high-yielding assets,
yet remained vulnerable to
weak domestic growth outlook
and political uncertainty.
At 0646 GMT, the rand traded
at 15,0250 per dollar, 0,53 per-
cent firmer from Wednesday's
New York close.
Aiding risk sentiment were min-
utes from the latest US Federal
Reserve meeting that under-
scored caution about future
interest rate hikes.
"The risk aversion that we
spoke about yesterday has
eased. The Fed and oil's bounce
above $40/bbl have helped,"
Rand Merchant Bank analyst
John Cairns said in a note.
On the local front, focus was on
whether President Jacob Zuma
would heed calls to step down
after a top court ruled that he
had breached the constitution
by ignoring an order to repay
some of the $16 million in state
funds spent on renovating his
private home.
President Zuma survived
impeachment in parliament on
Tuesday thanks to the African
National Congress' majority in
the 400-seat assembly, but civil
society organisations and oppo-
sition parties are still urging
him to resign.
Ratings agency Standard &
Poor's said on Wednesday polit-
ical upheavals in South Africa
pose a risk to its sovereign
credit rating as the fallout could
divert government's attention
from implementing growth
policies.
"The local unit has been unable
to cling on below psychological
R15/dollar level despite favour-
able currents within broader
emerging market sphere due to
country's weak economic fun-
damentals and rising political
risk," NKC African Economics
said in a note.
Stocks were set to open higher
at 0700 GMT, with the JSE
securities exchange's Top-40
futures index up almost 0.7
percent.
In fixed income, the yield for
the benchmark instrument due
in 2026 was down 5.5 basis
points at 9,235 percent. - Reu-
ters●

13. The dollar slipped for a second
day, reaching a 17-month low
against the yen, and emerg-
ing-market shares rallied
after Federal Reserve meeting
minutes reaffirmed US policy
makers aren’t rushing to raise
interest rates.
The greenback’s weakness sent
the yen on its longest rally
since January and pushed the
euro to a five-month high. A
measure of emerging market
stocks rose for the first time
in three days, led by health-
care and energy shares. The
Malaysian ringgit climbed as
an unexpected drop in US oil
inventories sent crude higher
for a third day.
While they discussed the rel-
ative health of the American
economy at their March meet-
ing, Fed officials contrasted
it with persistent risks facing
the global outlook. Traders are
assigning zero chance of the
Fed increasing rates in April,
with the odds not topping 50
percent until its December
meeting. Japan’s Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshihide Suga said
for a third successive day the
government is watching yen
movements with vigilance,
adding in his latest comments
that the authorities will act
appropriately if necessary.
“We’ve got a fairly dovish Fed,
and combined with the rally in
crude, we’re seeing a positive
performance in markets,” said
Michael McCarthy, chief market
strategist at CMC Markets in
Sydney. “Despite what should
be an overall risk-on environ-
ment, caution remains across
the region ahead of the US
earnings season.”
China is scheduled to release
foreign reserves data on
Thursday.
Stocks
The MSCI Emerging Markets
Index gained 0,4 percent as of
8:23 a.m. London time, with
health-care stocks jumping
1,6 percent. The Stoxx Europe
600 Index gained 0,1 percent,
while futures on the Standard
& Poor’s 500 Index also lost
0,1 percent.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX
200 Index added 0,4 percent,
while South Korea’s Kospi
index finished up 0,1 per-
cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock
Average snapped the longest
run of losses since 2012. New
Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index
climbed 0,3 percent and the
Shanghai Composite Index
fell 0,7 percent, sliding for a
second day.
ZTE Corp. in Hong Kong fell
as much as 16 percent, the
biggest intraday decline in
almost nine months, as China’s
second-largest maker of tele-
communications gear resumed
trade for the first time since
an investigation by the US gov-
ernment said it violated trade
sanctions with Iran.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot
Index, a gauge of the green-
back against 10 major peers,
was down 0,3 percent after
halting a two-day recovery
Wednesday. Oil’s rally bol-
stered the ringgit, helping it
gain 0,4 percent. The euro
rose 0,3 percent against to
$1,1435, the highest since
October.
The Fed meeting records shed
more light on the decision to
keep rates unchanged last
month. They showed US policy
makers debated an April rate
hike, though several officials
advocated a cautious approach,
partly amid worries that slow-
ing world growth could crimp
the US economy’s expansion.
The yen advanced for a fifth
day, gaining 1 percent to
108,71 a dollar. That’s the
longest run of gains in three
months and the strongest level
since October 2014.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude
added 0,7 percent to $38,01 a
barrel following last session’s
5,2 percent jump, its steepest
one-day gain since March 16.
Brent climbed 0,5 percent to
$40,02 a barrel.
US crude stockpiles fell 4,94
million barrels last week, data
from the US Energy Informa-
tion Administration showed,
after analysts predicted a 2,85
million-barrel gain. Refineries
processed the most oil in three
months as output and imports
slipped.
Gold for immediate delivery
attempted a rebound, rising
0,5 percent to $1 228,59 an
ounce following Wednesday’s
0,7 percent retreat. - Bloomb-
erg - Bloomberg●
internatioNAL News13
Dollar sinks on Fed as emerging markets rise with yen; oil gains

14. By Tawanda Musarurwa
Much like the word ‘love’,
ESAP is a four-letter word (or
an abbreviation of a four-
word phrase) that means
everything it does not say.
As anyone who has been in
love will tell you, pain is sel-
dom promised but is invaria-
bly delivered.
Zimbabwe’s motor industry
is experiencing some serious
post-ESAP pain. Proponents
of the concept of trade lib-
eralisation say it is simply
better for countries to open
up their markets to trade and
investment as it helps in the
diversification of an economy
and growth in export receipts
that lead to sustained eco-
nomic growth.
But theory and real-life
experience are two differ-
ent things. But then again,
‘real-life experience’ is
not necessarily perfectly
objective either as George
Soros’ theory of reflexivity
or ‘imperfect understanding’
suggests.
The idea of completely ‘open
markets’ seems to imply that
firms should and can adjust
to a more efficient level of
production to be able to
compete effectively.
The story of Zimbabwe’s
motor industry pre- and
post-trade liberalisation
can tell us a bit about what
should and can happen.
Of Zimbabwe’s two main
car-makers, Willowvale,
which is 60 percent owned
by Motec Holdings that is
controlled 75 percent by
the state-owned Industrial
Development of Zimbabwe
(IDCZ) and the remaining 25
percent by Itochu of Japan,
is no longer assembling cars
as a result of inefficiencies
brought about by lagging
technology.
And Quest Motor Corpora-
tion, which holds franchises
for BMW, Chery, Foton, JMC,
Mitsubishi, Peugeot and
Zhong Tong buses, has had
its capacity devastated by
low uptake due to cheaper
imports.
Suffice to say, South Korea’s
Hyundai Motor Com-
pany, which has become
the world’s fifth largest
car-maker is seven years
younger than Quest Motor
Corporation yet the latter is
currently operating at below
1 percent of capacity that
cannot effectively cater to
the needs of Zimbabwe’s car
requirements.
And it’s exactly the reasons
you are thinking (reflexiv-
ity considered). In the early
90s, Zimbabwe implemented
the International Monetary
Fund-induced Economic
Structural Adjustment
Programme (ESAP), whose
underlying premise was that
the market must control the
economy.
However, what we hardly
hear about ESAPs in gen-
eral is that they tend to be
brutal, resulting in the total
14 analysis14 analysis
Economic Structural Adjustment Programme and the decimation of Zimbabwe’s
motor industry

15. 15 analysis15 analysis
decline of some industries.
“Our motor industry was
vibrant until 1994 when we
followed ESAP and totally
destroyed our industrial
base,” says Quest Motors
Zimbabwe CEO Mr Talik
Adams.
Industrialist Adams sug-
gests that when Zimbabwe
embraced trade liberalisation
in the 90s, the country was
not well positioned, at least
in terms of policy, to com-
pete with South Africa which
was more in tune with what
it wanted in open market
trade – as explicit in the
South African Motor Industry
Development Policy Program.
“It’s a sore thorn in our side
that our neighbours (South
Africa) have been the most
destructive to our indus-
try. They have tailored their
policies to make sure that
the rest of Africa north of
the Limpopo becomes their
market.
“They have subsidised their
exports; the domestic prices
of vehicles in South Africa
are higher than those for
their export markets. Accord-
ing to World Trade Organi-
sation (WTO) rules, that is
supposed to be dumping.
“We have since 1995 been
pointing this out to Govern-
ment, it has been aware of
it, we have provided them
with all the necessary evi-
dence and I am glad to say
that Parliament had passed
anti-dumping regulations
some years ago, because if
we had followed the route of
going to the WTO sometimes
you have to wait 10 years
before getting a decision.
“Government had decided
we pass our own anti-dump-
ing legislation which means
we could introduce duties
on vehicles or other prod-
ucts that are imported from
the country of origin at a
lower price. Unfortunately
this dumping regulation has
never been enforced even we
have proven that vehicles are
being exported to this mar-
ket 20 to 30 percent cheaper
than what they are being
sold in the domestic market
(country of origin),” he said.
Zimbabwe is a member of
the World Trade Organisa-
tion, the Africa Caribbean
and Pacific-European Union
Cotonou Agreement, and is a
party to COMESA and SADC
Free Trade Protocols.
It has also bilateral trade
agreements with Botswana,
Namibia, Malawi, Zambia and
South Africa, all of which
provide frameworks for
enhanced liberalisation of
trade.
Zimbabwe has been partic-
ipating in these protocols
to benefit from the gains of
trade liberalisation. But as
the 2015 trade deficit $3,3
billion (circa a fifth of Gross
Domestic Product) shows,
the country is anything but
“benefitting”.
Sometimes it has been a
result of laxness on our part
as a country.
“South Africa did not renew
our trade agreement after
1994, they abrogated it but
it’s still in force in Zimba-
bwe. It means they are get-
ting tariff benefits if things
are imported from South
Africa, but we are getting no
tariff benefits exporting to
South Africa,” says Adams.
Second, after Zimbabwe's
1986 motor development
strategy, the Vertically
Integrated Companies (VIC)
policy expired it was not
replaced. Although a draft
motoring policy exists, it’s
been long in the pipeline.
It’s now apparent that
the assumption that trade
reforms would automati-
cally result in an increase in
import competition, thereby
encouraging local producers
to pursue productivity gains,
either through the use of
better technology and busi-
ness practices, or through
innovation was an ill-con-

16. 16 analysis16 analysis
ceived idea.
The State has to play a
greater role, not necessarily
in implementing protection-
ist policies, but in ensuring
some modicum of a lev-
el-playing field.
Deven Engineering (Pvt) Ltd
(another IDCZ subsidiary)’s
managing director Mr Patrick
Munyaradzi says it is critical
that the country’s poli-
cy-makers re-instate higher
duty rates on imported Com-
plete Built Units (CBU's) and
exports.
Open trade has clearly not
resulted improved domestic
efficiency for local car-mak-
ers (and I argue for other
industries as well – but
that’s another story for
another time).
But the story is yet to be
fully told. Whatever will
become of Zimbabwe’s motor
industry going forward, the
fate is still in our hands.
In his hearty illumination of
reflexivity in The Alchemy of
Finance, Soros says:
“Once we realise that imper-
fect understanding is the
human condition there is no
shame in being wrong, only
in failing to correct our mis-
takes.”
Once beaten, twice
shy........
So here we are again...in
2016. And one of the most
topical issues on the Zim-
babwean economic plateau
is the ongoing re-engage-
ment efforts with the Bretton
Woods institutions, the IMF
and the World Bank.
It’s an open secret that
these institutions typically
attach strong conditions to
loans they make to devel-
oping countries; conditions
that are typically neoliberal,
such as reducing government
spending, unilaterally open-
ing markets to foreign trade
and privatising important
public assets.
The question is: are we not
drinking from the same poi-
soned chalice?
But in backing ongoing
re-engagement efforts,
Finance and Economic
Development Minister Patrick
Chinamasa once put it rather
succinctly:
“With an unsustainable wage
bill accounting for over 80
percent of expenditure, we
don’t need the IMF to be
telling us that we need to
reduce that wage bill.”
And voices to this end are
not in short supply. Says one
economist Mr Persistence
Gwanyanya:
“I personally think that the
engagement between Zimba-
bwe, IMF and the World Bank
is constructive. A look at
the SMP will reveal that the
program is underpinned on
the need to re-balance the
economy towards more pro-
duction and savings whilst
reducing consumption, which
I think Zimbabwe authorities
fully agree with.
“This is the thrust of most
economic and structural
benchmarks that were agreed
between the country and the
authority. The IMF is only
giving us technical advice
and we are also using their
recommendations in our
policy formulations, without
them imposing policies on
us.”
ESAP is largely believed to
have been ‘homegrown’ too.
However, it should be
remembered that one of the
key neoliberal aims of the
Bretton Woods institutions
for developing nations is
small government (that has
very little or no interfer-
ence in workings of private
capital).
Our experience with ESAP
tells us we now know better.
But then again, that’s a the-
ory.To know better is to do
better ●