One of the worst tragedies we face in this country is that individuals who are politicians through and through masquerade as economists.
Déjà vu with Kamurai Mudzingwa
As if this was not enough, they are given portfolios that require minute-by-minute economic decisions.
These decisions include crafting economic policies and implementing them.
This set-up, where such charlatans are in charge of economic decisions, has brought the country’s economy to its knees.
And very soon, the economy will assume a supine position, signalling its death.
This is made worse by certain fringe characters who also masquerade as economic analysts, shouting praises from the margins so that they are seen and heard through interviews by politically correct media.
These characters pretend that the poor (for want of a better word) political decisions are some of the best economic decisions ever made since creation.
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A politician will always make bad economic decisions. And a politician will always seek political solutions where they don’t fit.
We have seen how those who fleece the country of millions of dollars are left scot-free because political decisions are made to let them go scot-free.
Politicians would sacrifice the economy if it makes them retain power. We have heard how, for instance, the rot at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation was ignored because the country was going towards elections and how it would have been disastrous for the ruling party to take action against the rot.
We have heard how the second highest office in the land was against the exposure of corruption in government because of the political damage it would cause to one faction of the ruling party.
We have seen how the indigenisation issue has been handled, scaring away investors like a plague.
The current crop of politicians, who have this false notion that by holding government offices they become economic experts overnight, will surely kill this economy if they have not already done so.
Zimbabwe’s politicians who hold government offices are typical of many in Africa, they are so myopic that they do not see further than the vote.
The love of the vote and power has cost us big time. Industries are closing, the land is no longer productive and corruption is encouraged as part of political patronage.
The politician, occupying offices that require economic decisions, takes advantage of his or her power to make political decisions for personal aggrandisement.
As a result, a country rich in resources like Zimbabwe slides into economic doom. Only those who are part of the oligarchy benefit.
But let me warn these guys that nothing lasts forever. They should heed the warning that all the political decisions they make for personal aggrandisement at the expense of the economy will backfire.
Of course, they will arrogantly laugh at such warnings like the Shakespearean Caesar who laughed off the warning about his impending doom on the Ides of March. Caesar died on the Ides of March and ironically, at the hands of his trusted friends.
A poorly handled economy causes civil strife. Joseph E Stiglitz in Civil Strife and Economic and Social Policies makes a very interesting observation about Sierra Leone and Botswana.
He notes that both countries are rich in diamonds, but there is civil strife (including civil war) in Sierra Leone because the diamonds are used for the benefit of the few, while there is peace and stability in Botswana because the diamonds are used for economic development.
I read this with a sense of déjà vu for we seem to be going the Sierra Leone way with the way political decisions are being made over our resources that include diamonds.
The economy will surely come back to haunt these charlatans when the unstoppable tide of human emotions turns against them.
They may think that they have State security personnel in their corner to manipulate and use against the tide of the masses, but they should remember that these are people too who are affected by the economy like everyone else.
They have families (nucleus and extended) to take care of. We buy from the same shops using the same currency.
It would be fallacious to assume that once one joins the State security services, one is automatically cushioned from the effects of bad economic decisions that affect everyone else.
Remember 2008 when men in army uniforms went about looting shops in town?
Haven’t we heard reports of State security personnel joining illegal gold miners in a bid to supplement their meagre income?
Have we forgotten that one bank manager was assaulted by a State security guy who wanted to withdraw his hard-earned salary from a bank that was penniless?
If those in government were not arrogant like Caesar, they would start implementing policies that benefit the economy.
The starting point would be to get rid of charlatans and ensure that real technocrats take over important positions that require sound economic decisions.
If the oligarchy continues to entrust myopic politicians with the economy, they are not only destroying the country by day, they are shooting themselves in the foot.
