Opposition Build Zimbabwe Alliance leader Noah Manyika has
mocked President Emmerson Mnangagwa for introducing what he described as
“voodoo” economics anchored on lack of understanding that the economy operates
as an integrated system, not a simple collection of parts.
Manyika was responding to claims by Finance minister Mthuli
Ncube that government had recorded a fiscal surplus of US$443 million recorded
in the first quarter of the year, a claim that was repeated by Mnangagwa during
his first radio interview with CapiTalk FM last Friday.
But Manyika differed, saying a performing economy was one
experienced by the people, not imagined and, therefore, the “imagined surplus”
when people were struggling to survive meant nothing.
“Voodoo economists are like the voodoo engineers who assume
that by simply putting the individual parts of an engine into one big bag would
produce a functioning engine. There may be a fiscal surplus, but an economy is
an integrated system, not simply a collection of parts,” he said.
“As kids, we pushed bricks around pretending they were
cars. We shifted gears with our mouths, but our ‘cars’ did not take us anywhere
except in our imagination. Our leaders need to understand that a performing
economy is one where people experience real, not imagined progress.”
Zimbabwe is experiencing the worst economic nightmare in
close to a decade, characterised by shortages of fuel, foreign currency and
hyperinflation.
The economic hardships have left people on the edge, with
opposition parties and labour unions threatening crippling street protests
against Mnangagwa’s government over the deteriorating economic situation.
Added Manyika: “If you are drifting out at sea in a boat
with 10 holes, the fact that you have plugged five holes does not mean the boat
won’t sink. Simply flooding the banks with US$ that had been hoarded elsewhere
does not mean our industries, farms and Zesa will magically start performing.
“Our government leaders are like false prophets who create
miracles. In the next few months, beware of engineered price reductions that
are not sustainable as a result of forex magically being injected into the
system so that the prophecies about prices going down can be fulfilled.”
Manyika is one of the opposition leaders who have pulled
out of Mnangagwa’s political dialogue with fringe presidential candidates in
last year’s elections that was also snubbed by MDC leader Nelson Chamisa who is
demanding “genuine” dialogue presided over by a neutral mediator. Newsday
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