Comments on: Zimbabwe Business Watch : Week 21

By: David Wheeler

David Wheeler — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:52:26 +0000

Well said! Graham (the original).

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By: Chikombo

Chikombo — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:58:29 +0000

@Graham (the original) - With the oppressive colonial government gone we fell into the hands of oppressive dictatorship which was not as bad in some aspects but worse in others. With the experience we have gained (first hand) we should be politically mature now. The knowledge we have on what constitutes a bad government has come at a price and twice for that matter. Our next government (without Mugabe) will certainly not be perfect even the USA is currently plagued by a series of scandals. Fingers are pointing at Bush for the 9/11 attacks on the W.T.Centre reports are streaming in that there bombs planted on the pillars of the towers(notice how the buildings "safely crumbled into one heap barely affecting neighbouring buildings just the way old building are demolished). There is a lot more corrupt stuff happening over there but what is important for us is to develop as much controls on the three pillars of governance as we can possible conceive. This development of controls ought to be ongoing. I know that whatever economic reforms we make if our governing policies have loop holes that allow the executive to buy Bentleys/personal castles overseas (using state funds) then gag the mouth of the judiciary while arm twisting the legislature then......

Reply to this comment --- @Graham (the original)<\/a> - \r\nWith the oppressive colonial government gone we fell into the hands of oppressive dictatorship which was not as bad in some aspects but worse in others. With the experience we have gained (first hand) we should be politically mature now. The knowledge we have on what constitutes a bad government has come at a price and twice for that matter.\r\nOur next government (without Mugabe) will certainly not be perfect even the USA is currently plagued by a series of scandals. Fingers are pointing at Bush for the 9\/11 attacks on the W.T.Centre reports are streaming in that there bombs planted on the pillars of the towers(notice how the buildings \"safely crumbled into one heap barely affecting neighbouring buildings just the way old building are demolished). There is a lot more corrupt stuff happening over there but what is important for us is to develop as much controls on the three pillars of governance as we can possible conceive. This development of controls ought to be ongoing.\r\nI know that whatever economic reforms we make if our governing policies have loop holes that allow the executive to buy Bentleys\/personal castles overseas (using state funds) then gag the mouth of the judiciary while arm twisting the legislature then......'); return false;">Quote from this comment

By: Ozzie

Ozzie — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:51:50 +0000

Those government leaders who have recently tasted the good life (MDC), or have revelled in it for years (Zanu-PF), are indicating that they find it more palatable to plead for the world to come to the party rather than take on board the type of wisdom offered in the three posts above. But amongst ordinary people there is a thread of exhortation for self-help, and some of the clean-up of community break-down, filth and pollution has been people-driven, which is encouraging.

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By: Graham (the original)

Graham (the original) — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:48:33 +0000

It should hardly come as a surprise that there is not enough forex in Zim. A basic understanding of economics will tell you that forex is what you get when you export goods or bring in tourist dollars. And neither of those activities happen by themselves - they require productive work. No productive work = no forex. I think most Zimbabweans have forgotten what productive work is - sitting in parliament or a government office or selling bananas on the street is not productive work. Productive work means helping to till the soil for export crops; productive work means going down a mine or sweating in a factory from 8-5; it means providing waterholes and sanctuaries for wild-life and welcoming tourists at the border; it means building up the beef and dairy herds, and shipping flowers to Europe. Unless Zimbabwe as a nation rediscovers its old productive work ethos, we condemn ourselves to a subsistence future, whinging and squabbling over charity handouts and grubbing for scraps from the tables of politicians and expatriates.

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By: David Wheeler

David Wheeler — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:01:39 +0000

To kick-start an economy we need to do two things: 1/ Encourage the producers. 2/ Eliminate the parasites.

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By: Graham (the original)

Graham (the original) — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:54:15 +0000

Having destroyed the "oppressive colonial" economy and industrial infrastructure that took a hundred years of sweat, dedication and innovation to build, Zimbabweans now find themselves pretty much back at the same point as the early white settlers faced in 1890 - no money, no industry, no public services, little commercial infrastructure, and a total reliance on expensive imported goods. Now Zimbabweans must retrace their past economic journey all over again - start small, work hard on the land or in the mines, innovate, save, lead simple lives, and forgoe all the expensive services and luxury goods that we once took for granted. With luck, hard work and a better choice of leadership, after a couple more generations Zimbabweans may once again reach the standard of living which they once took so much for granted.

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By: Don Cox

Don Cox — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:19:00 +0000

This describes a situation very like that of Britain in the late 1940s, when the country was broke after WWII. If people work hard, it will slowly improve. The worst thing to do would be to print more Zim dollars. Import businesses pay taxes, as well as local manufacturing businesses.

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