No Honeymoon Period for Election Winners

Opinion

By Thandiwe Kapambwe

Harare – If you were expecting a honeymoon period after the Zimbabwean elections, you were dead wrong.

It does not matter whom you voted for. It may have been the elderly veteran of politics, Emmerson Mnangagwa, or the young and feisty Nelson Chamisa, both of whom were the main contenders for the presidency, the truth is challenges we face today would still be a reality. 

We all know who won. At the end of the day, it would have made no difference had the prize gone to Chamisa because the hard truth still had to be faced: Zimbabwe is dead broke and hard decisions have to be made.

It has been a hectic time loading our shopping trolleys to the brim out of fear our money will soon be rendered useless or that soon there will be nothing left to buy. The euphoria many of us felt about a new era being ushered in after years of being abused and down-trodden by the former government led by President Robert Mugabe has become a new low.

We have gone through economic crises before and survived. The difference now, with particular reference to the world-breaking one of 2008, is that most of us are now on social media. It’s likely many of you, for instance, have been receiving WhatsApp messages on your phones from friends with tips of the shops where cooking oil and other essentials are in supply. That is the bright side of this drama.  In years gone by, it would have meant time wasted, even days, hunting high and low for supplies.

As consumers, it is early days yet to know whether or not we are over reacting but as analysts, both amateur and professional, our lack of knowledge does not stop us from expressing our diverse views of where we assume we are headed. However, there are some agreed and basic facts that we are privy to and these include the awareness that our foreign debt runs into millions; government extravagance is at an all-time high; we import more than we export and there is worrying low domestic production.

The bottom line is that Zimbabwe is broke and cannot continue living on borrowed money.

We can complain as loudly and as much as we want over the two percent tax recently introduced by Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube but at the end of the day we have to accept and adapt to any austerity measures that government may impose to stabilise the economy.

One problem is that we have acquired tastes that do not tie in with our poverty. The rationing of some products can be understood. But rationed Jungle Oats (imported from South Africa) as seen in one major retailer should not be our reality. Our local producers and farmers must up their game. We must see more locally grown fruit and vegetable and the manufacturing sector must receive all the help needed to increase output.

It might also be a good opportunity for us as Zimbabweans to take stock of lifestyles and start eating healthy. The fact that some fast food shops have closed shop because of hard currency shortages could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Granted choice is good but there is no value in us fighting over cartoons of cooking oil.

It is no wonder that social media often makes fun of what idiots we are despite our supposedly high education. Our scientists should be inventing recipes from local produce as a whole.  The elections were about rebranding the country and this is one area where Zimbabwe could find a place as a centre of food research and development in Africa as a whole.