FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube yesterday said Zimbabweans should not criticise his budget surplus, and claimed that his austerity measures had saved the economy from an economic collapse induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ncube, who is in New York, the United States, where he is
on a roadshow to charm investors to the southern African nation, told delegates
attending a business conference yesterday at the Zimbabwe International Trade
Fair (ZITF) held under the theme Embracing the new normal for business and
industry: Realities and Opportunities.
Ncube said COVID-19 vaccination had anchored the country’s
economic recovery strategy and people should not criticise the budget surplus
he often boasts about insisting that it had saved lives through the purchase of
vaccines and other interventions.
But immediately, civil servants accused him of dishonesty,
claiming the surplus was superficial when the majority of Zimbabweans are
wallowing in poverty.
“The other response is the vaccination programme.
Colleagues, the surplus works. I repeat the surplus works. Don’t criticise the
surplus,” Ncube said in a virtual address.
“If we did not have the surplus in 2020 of US$100 million,
we could have been in deep trouble as a country. We would not have managed to
acquire the vaccines that have gone into your arms right now.”
Ncube’s speech was delivered under the topic: The Pandemic
and the economy: Business Recovery Support initiatives — fiscal interventions
and perspectives.
The business conference drew delegates from industry and
commerce with Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, as the guest speaker,
accompanied by several Cabinet ministers.
“When you think of the surplus, think of that vaccine that
is going into your arm; that is what it is all about. So far, we have spent US$127,3 million
procuring additional vaccines, again focusing on Sinopham and Sinovac,” Ncube
said.
“We have enough vaccines to go around so get vaccinated.
This is an economic recovery strategy and not just a health strategy for saving
lives.”
Ncube has often attracted criticism over the country’s
budget surplus with critics citing widespread poverty and hunger.
Civil servants have on several occasions pleaded with Ncube
to use the surplus to fund their salaries to cushion them against the harsh
economic climate where prices of basics keep going up.
Teacher unions yesterday accused Ncube of trying to
“justify the unjustifiable.”
“We can’t have a surplus when the majority of Zimbabweans
are living in poverty and receiving starvation wages. That shocking contrast
between richness that is supported by the surplus and extreme levels of poverty
and penury is unacceptable. A surplus that
can only be seen by the rich people and not extended to the poor people is an
unnecessary surplus,” PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz)
president Obert Masaraure added: “We have criticised the surplus because it has
overally been fictitious. We are all aware that we have been receiving a lot of
support from donor agencies to keep us going as a nation.
“Zimbabwe should not be operating within the confines of
just saving money; Zimbabwe must be operating through investing in our people,
investing in social services . . .” Newsday
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