ZIMBABWE has been in an economic depression over the last three decades with the effects unfairly affecting the poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
Currently, Zimbabwe has one of the worst year-on-year inflation rates, hovering around 200%, while annual food inflation sits at 121%, one of the highest in the world.
This has led to an increase in food poverty that worsened the vulnerability of citizens.
Ironically, politically-charged sentiments shared by the political elite including Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube are that “we are OK as economic fundamentals are sound and a promising future beckons”.
This calls for the need to state the actual facts and status of poverty in the country as experienced by citizens rather than figures not translating to reality.
Poverty in Zimbabwe is not coincidental.
It is an expected result of the structural make-up of the economy controlled by cartels which hold the means of production and consequently access to national wealth.
The most basic of resources such as land and abundant minerals are controlled by the ruling party and aligned cronies as allocated during the land reform programme in the early 2000s and recently as mining concessions have been given to “foreign investors” with no visible return to local communities.
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On the land question, the redistributed land has done little as the section of citizens which accessed it also struggle due to inability to raise capital for production.
As a result, the land remains largely unused.
In the same vein, corruption among those who hold the means of production remains a serious challenge. It is reported that Zimbabwe loses an estimated US$100 million per month and US$1 billion annually in gold leakages.
These losses are facilitated by the political elite as recent revelations in the Al Jazeera exposè show that there is government complicity.
This points to an even bigger challenge as it is a reflection of decayed institutions managing public resources.
This raises serious concerns for us as a people based, pro-poor coalition because the masses lose out on significant resources that could have changed the indicators bellow for them;
- 7,7 million people are living in extreme poverty,
- 3,8 million rural people are in need of food assistance and 1,6 million urban people are in need of food assistance,
- 4,8 million children are living in poverty and 1,6 million children are living in extreme poverty.
- 10% of children aged between six and 24 months are consuming a minimally acceptable diet.
- 4,6 million students are in need of Basic Education Assistance Module.
The issue of food security or its absence is not a political one, but a social economic justice issue reflecting the livelihoods of citizens and more importantly, the poor.
As such, it is key that any reporting on the matter is factual and considerate to their plight. Indeed, poverty has a human face and it leaves citizens in indignity.
Government has called for a helping hand from bilateral partners due to its inability to support those facing food insecurity.
Being a pro-poor movement, we then recommend that government meaningfully addresses the challenge of food insecurity.
Only then can the 7,9 million citizens living in extreme poverty be afforded the dignity of a decent life.
Hence, below are recommendations made:
Strengthen institutions such as the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and Parliament to reduce corruption and illicit financial flows.
Government must urgently address the wage erosion issue being experienced by workers to restore confidence and efficiency in the public sector.
Government should provide social safety nets to cushion vulnerable groups including people with disability, the elderly, children and women.
The Finance and Economic Development ministry and the wider Executive should foster fiscal discipline to reduce borrowing pressure and strengthen domestic resource mobilisation. Further, resource-backed loans should be curbed.-Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development
Sugar industry monopoly breaking long overdue
THE Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development welcomes government’s commitment to breaking the monopoly in the sugar industry through amending the Sugar Production Control Act.
The monopoly and subsumption (the action of including or absorbing one thing in another) in the sugar industry is reflected by the fact that Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (THZ), which includes Hippo Valley Estates Ltd and Triangle Sugar Estate, that controls the value chain from the growing of sugarcane, milling and marketing because Tongaat Hulett enjoys a market situation in which there is only one buyer (monopsony) and this undermines trade justice efforts.
Sugarcane in Zimbabwe is grown under canal irrigation in the lowveld area of Triangle and Hippo Valley (Chiredzi district, Masvingo province).
Mkwasine Estates (formerly owned by Tongaat) is farmed by small-scale farmers on 8 200 hectares of land.
Approximately, 80% of Zimbabwe’s sugarcane crop is produced by THZ.
The remaining 20% is produced by private farmers who consist of large-scale and small-scale farmers.
Zimbabwe has two sugar mills, that is Hippo Valley Estates Ltd and Triangle Sugar Estates Ltd. The two have a sugar production capacity of approximately 640 000 metric tonnes (MT) and an installed milling capacity of 4,8 million MT of sugarcane per annum.
The South Africa-based Tongaat Hulett owns 100% of Triangle Sugar Estate and 50,5% of the Hippo Valley.
The remaining 49,5% of the Hippo Valley shares are publicly owned through the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
Hippo Valley only produces raw sugar, while Triangle produces raw sugar and approximately 20% of the total refined sugar in Zimbabwe.
There are only two sugar refineries in Zimbabwe; Triangle Sugar Refinery, and Star Africa Sugar Refinery Ltd, an independent sugar refinery based in Harare (the Bulawayo Star Africa refinery is currently not operational).
Zimbabwe’s two refineries; Triangle Sugar Refinery and starafrica Sugar Refinery have the capacity to produce 200 000MT and 140 000MT of high-quality refined sugar per annum, respectively.
This exclusive control of the sugar industry by Tongaat Hulett in Zimbabwe has grave implications on negotiations of sugarcane prices.-ZimCodd
