Former finance minister, Tendai Biti believes democracy forms the basis upon which rapid and sustainable economic growth flourishes while hinting that its contestation in the country has been the greatest attributing factor to economic malaise.
Biti, who was finance minister during inclusive government between 2009 and 2013, says there is a corresponding nexus between sustainable economic growth and democracy.
Launching his book, Democracy Works, in Harare today Biti said autocracy has characterized ZANU PF reign since independence and has been the country’s biggest undoing to its economic growth efforts, while giving a comparison with neighbouring Zambia which has seen multiple changes of governments since its Independence.
“In 1990 Zimbabwe economy was at US$ 7 billion, it was the second largest economy in the SADC region after South Africa. At the time GDP of Zambia was a mere US$ 3 billion but after 1991, when one party state collapsed in Zambia when President Kenneth Kaunda was defeated in an election by President Fredrick chiluba, after Chiluba, Mwanawasa came and did fantastic work in pushing the agenda for economic reform, including addressing the unsustainable debt situation that Zambia had I regret to say debt sustainability is back in Zambia, then we had President Rupiah Banda, then you have president Micheal Sata, So democracy was moving,”
“Zambia managed to grow its GDP from US$ 3 billion in 1990, to US$ 35 billion in 2016 while Zimbabwe is still staggering around US$ 13 billion, so autocracy has put a premium for economic growth,” said Biti.
Government however re-based the economy last year and it is now estimated to be at US$ 28 billion.
Political contestation that has rocked the country since the turn of the new millennium has manifested negative implications for Zimbabwe’s economy.
Gross human rights violations under former President Robert Mugabe and continued stifling of divergent ideas have curtailed sharing of ideas and economic growth capabilities amongst the citizens.
“You make economies work by opening up, by allowing the markets to work but the markets have its own failings, so you allow social interventions. Here in Zimbabwe we have a command economy,” said Biti.
Co-author of the book, former Nigerian President Olusagun Obasanjo concurred with Biti’s notion.
“The free the system, the better the development. A study of many African failed states show that in the absence of divergent ideas, innovation is stifled, hence there are lack of ideas. So democracy works,” he said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa led administration has come into the spotlight as also instilling heavy-handedness on power since coming to power and analysts are concerned with the impact it is likely to have on the country’s economic aspirations.
Concerns are rife that the country perception ratings for Zimbabwe will be seriously affected following the shooting of civilians by the army post election and the human rights abuses following the January national shutdown.
Already, the US has intensified its economic sanctions on the country, at a time the country is in desperate need of external funding for capital projects.
The book Democracy Works was launched despite a huge number of its copies confiscated by alleged security agents at the Robert Gabriel Airport this morning.
