Public confidence in government’s economic policies has diminished owing to inconsistencies and failure to address ordinary people’s realities, the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) has said.
In its Study titled, ‘The Economy We Want’ -the social justice lobby organization also said the austerity policies which were effected following President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 2018 election victory have worsened people’s suffering, constricted development and failed to turn around the economy because of its disconnection with reality.
“…The 2030 Upper-Middle Income Economy Agenda U-MIE (in particular the Transitional Stabilization Programme-TSP) lacks ownership by the citizens as they were never consulted in the crafting of the framework, which was done in Washington DC, United States of America, in April 2018,” it read.
Government introduced austerity in 2018, a policy that was meant to cut on government expenditure yet mobilizing domestic resources through heavy taxation.
This prompted widespread disapproval from the already impoverished citizens.
Consequently, the new dispensation has marginalized the general public from meaningfully participating in on-going political, social and economic reforms in the process perpetuating inequality and extending disparities in access to social services, the study stated.
ZIMCODD also castigated the government for failing to address economic challenges bedeviling the country by relying on policies formulated outside when current challenges can be addressed by reforming policies which are ‘internally generated without external influence’.
“…The UMIE Agenda 2030 is not in sync with other international development frameworks that the country has ratified, specifically the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. It does not mention anything to do with SDGs yet the country is already implementing the Zimbabwe Position Paper on SDGs that is running from 2016 to 2030.
“Inequality persists unabated and large disparities remain visible in access to education and health despite signing to the SDGs. To reduce inequality, policies should be universal in principle, paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized groups,” ZIMCODD said.
From its findings, ZIMCODD said the major priority areas identified by respondents from different sectors which included youths, women, civil society, labor and the informal sector were the need to transform the financial sector.
“For so many years, the government failed to act in the best interest of the general citizenry and address the macroeconomic distortions which include the huge national debt, fiscal indiscipline, current account deficit, inflation, and the currency issue among others,” the study outlined.
Zimbabwe is facing a financial crisis emanating from the continuous devaluation of its domestic currency amid allegations of systemic corruption.
The Zimbabwe dollar faced disapproval from its onset and has not gained confidence from the public since then.
