Latest news with #EmmersonMnangagwa


Zawya
3 days ago
- Politics
- Zawya
What happened to real economic development in Zimbabwe ?
In recent months, Zimbabweans have been bombarded with announcement after announcement of so-called 'revolving funds' launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government, supposedly as a form of economic empowerment. To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: The most recent was a US$300,000 fund, with US$200,000 earmarked for Health Ambassadors for Economic Development – a ZANU PF affiliate operating under the banner of 'Health Ambassadors for ED' – and US$100,000 for 'BoysDzamdara', another partisan group. Just a day earlier, the same government launched another US$200,000 fund for 'Mapositori for ED', also a ZANU PF-aligned group. Over the past year, we have witnessed similar schemes targeting war veterans, youth, teachers, women's groups, hairdressers, pastors, and many others – all under the banner of revolving funds intended to stimulate so-called 'projects'. But how is plunging citizens into debt supposed to be empowerment? Is this truly the vision of economic development under the so-called 'Second Republic'? When a government claims to be empowering its people but does so through debt, forcing citizens into the precarious world of informal survivalist projects – often far removed from their training, passion, and professional aspirations – then something is fundamentally broken. This growing tendency by the Mnangagwa administration to reduce empowerment to loans for 'projects' exposes a deep and systemic failure to create a functional economy. Take myself, for example. I am a journalist by training. My passion and profession lie in writing, in informing the public, in shaping national discourse. But in the Zimbabwe of today, I cannot earn a decent living through this passion, despite my qualifications and decades of experience. Instead, if I want to 'empower' myself under this government's model, I must take a loan – a debt – and perhaps start a poultry project or sell tomatoes on the roadside. But I never studied poultry farming. I have no particular love for selling tomatoes. These are not choices born of passion or vision. They are choices born out of desperation. In any normal country with a working economy, people pursue careers aligned with their skills and interests and are able to live decent lives doing so. Side projects, where they exist, are driven by personal interest – not by poverty, not by the failure of the state to ensure a functioning economy. Yet in Zimbabwe, that is the cruel reality. A trained teacher is no longer just a teacher. They must become a vendor, selling airtime, snacks, or vegetables on the side. A nurse is no longer simply a nurse. She is now also a hairdresser, or perhaps baking cakes to make ends meet. These so-called 'projects' are nothing more than desperate attempts to survive in a broken economy, where wages are not only insufficient but often irregular and meaningless in the face of hyperinflation and exchange rate volatility. These are not symbols of entrepreneurship – they are symptoms of state-authored poverty. Worse still, these revolving funds being paraded as government achievements are pitiful in both scale and impact. Take the US$200,000 for Mapositori, for instance. How many Mapositori exist across Zimbabwe? Tens of thousands, possibly more. How many are expected to benefit from this amount? A few hundred? A few thousand? Even if each beneficiary receives US$200 – a figure far too little to meaningfully start any business – that would only cover 1,000 individuals. What happens to the tens of thousands left out? And more critically, what are the realistic chances that those who do receive the money will succeed in repaying it? Then comes the hard question: in a hostile and dysfunctional economy that has already plunged these same citizens into poverty and shut down countless companies, what are the realistic chances that these beneficiaries will repay their loans? With formal unemployment hovering above 90%, and most Zimbabweans barely scraping by in the informal sector, how many of these so-called 'projects' are likely to succeed — let alone generate enough income to settle debts? In such a bleak economic landscape, where survival alone is an achievement, the sustainability of these revolving funds becomes more fantasy than fact. The very notion of a revolving fund presupposes that initial beneficiaries will be able to repay their loans so that others can benefit next. But what happens when those beneficiaries fail – not because they are lazy or irresponsible, but because they are operating in a hostile and dysfunctional economic environment? How long after the fund is launched will the second batch of recipients receive anything, if ever? It becomes painfully clear that these funds are not sustainable. They are not scalable. They are not empowering. They are political tokens – headline-grabbing gestures meant to create an illusion of activity and concern, while distracting from the fundamental collapse of the economy. In fact, trying to build an economy by pushing citizens into debt is a dangerous and irresponsible experiment. A truly empowered citizen is not one who is burdened with the anxiety of loan repayments. True empowerment comes when individuals can earn a decent income from their professions, live with dignity, and plan for their futures without having to beg for handouts or join partisan groups for access to resources. Under Mnangagwa's rule, however, people are being reduced to hustlers – not out of choice, but out of compulsion. And to make matters worse, the revolving funds are often channeled through ZANU PF structures, further politicising poverty and tying access to livelihoods to political loyalty. This entire model of so-called empowerment is an open admission that the Mnangagwa government has failed to build a sustainable economy. A functioning state does not need to intervene by giving out loans to individuals just to keep them afloat. In a thriving economy, people earn from their jobs, run profitable businesses based on genuine demand, and access funding through formal institutions like banks – not through politically-driven patronage schemes. If the President truly wants to empower Zimbabweans, he must focus on making the economy work again. That means creating a stable macroeconomic environment, ensuring the rule of law, eliminating corruption, and attracting real investors who can build factories, companies, and industries. It means fixing the public service so that teachers, nurses, and police officers are adequately paid and motivated. It means supporting small businesses by creating enabling conditions – reliable power, fair taxation, efficient transport – not by handing out scraps and expecting people to succeed in a storm. Zimbabweans deserve real empowerment – where their skills, qualifications, and passions are rewarded in a functioning system. They deserve to stand on their own two feet, not constantly reliant on government intervention or political favour. Until we see policies that restore the dignity of the worker, that rebuild the capacity of national institutions, and that foster genuine economic activity, then all these revolving funds are nothing more than a smoke screen. Debt is not empowerment. Poverty masked as opportunity is not development. And until the Mnangagwa administration realises that true empowerment lies in structural reform, not in political tokenism, Zimbabwe will remain stuck in this tragic cycle of desperation and deception.© Copyright The Zimbabwean. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (


eNCA
4 days ago
- Business
- eNCA
Zim economy is stable and growing
HARARE - Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa says that President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration has created a stable middle-class economy, which has resulted in political stability. "We say you can't quarrel with success. The president has delivered economic success, and it speaks for itself. That's a middle-class economy that we are creating," "It is why our economy is pumping, that is why there is political stability, because when you create a middle-class economy, you have also created stability in the economy," Mutsvangwa explained. But former Finance Minister Tendai Biti says corruption has led to the total collapse of the country's economy. "I reckon that we are losing as much as US$5 billion a year through smuggling. So whilst the economy is overheating and it's producing a lot of extractive commodities, there are not benefiting any individual, they are not benefiting the country, and they are not transforming lives. So when Zanu PF claims that this economy is growing, it's meaningless growth because it can't be seen and experienced by any Zimbabweans," argued Biti.

IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Mnangagwa outlines Zimbabwe's path to becoming an economic powerhouse at the Liberation Movement Summit
President of Zimbabwe and leader of Zanu-PF, Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses the Liberation Movement Summit in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni on Sunday. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has laid out a sweeping economic transformation strategy aimed at empowering the country's youth, boosting rural economies, and positioning Zimbabwe as a driver of African innovation and self-reliance. Speaking at the Liberation Movement Summit in South Africa on Sunday, Mnangagwa emphasised that Zimbabwe's development would be people-centered, inclusive, and anchored in Pan-African solidarity. 'In our case, ZANU-PF has adopted strategies to empower the youth,' Mnangagwa declared. 'We are not only issuing mining claims but also providing equipment so they can actively participate in the mining value chain.' He revealed plans to drill boreholes in each of Zimbabwe's 35,000 villages.


Zawya
21-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
In rare public stance, Zimbabwe warns errant Chinese investors
Zimbabwe has warned Chinese investors against disregarding local labour and environmental laws as well as driving illicit financial activities, an unusual stance after months of public complaints. Harare's rebuke now upends Zimbabwe's record as one of the African countries that have been most receptive to investment from Beijing, often looking away when issues are raised. China had, over the years, grown to be the dominant source market for investors into Zimbabwe following the Southern African country's isolation by the West over two decades ago. Tafadzwa Muguti, a senior official in President Emmerson Mnangagwa's office, this week took by surprise delegates at a conference to discuss Chinese investments in Harare, when he warned investors from the Asian country to desist from 'illicit financial activities, environmental harm and disregard for local laws.''The majority of you (Chinese) businesspeople are not banking (money),' Mr Muguti told the China-Zimbabwe Business Forum on Wednesday.'You do not have bank accounts. You are keeping money under your mattresses, under the floor, or on the roof, but in China you don't do that. If they all take US dollars and Zimbabwe Gold currency and keep them in their houses, it causes our economy to collapse. There will be no liquidity in the market. So starting from now, we are directing you to bank your money.' Chinese President Xi Jinping, in 2015, designated Zimbabwe as an 'all-weather friend,' a title only given to 14 countries worldwide. The Chinese have heavily invested in Zimbabwe's energy, construction, agriculture, and mining sectors. China has also financed and undertaken large infrastructure projects such as power stations, airports, roads, and hospitals, but the growing influence of the world's second largest economy in the world has been polarising Zimbabwe. Critics have long raised concerns about Chinese investors' alleged disregard for local labour and environmental laws, but Harare has frequently defended them. The government has in the past accused those who are critical of the conduct of Chinese investors of being agents of the West, trying to disrupt the flow of investment from a reliable ally. Zimbabwe has battled a currency crisis for nearly two decades that saw the country abandon the local unit in 2009 in favour of a basket of currencies dominated by the US dollar. The country has since then made six attempts to revive the Zimbabwe dollar with the latest attempt being the mineral-based Zimbabwe Gold currency introduced a year ago. Most businesspeople, especially foreigners, are hesitant to use local banks because of uncertainties surrounding the country's monetary policies and the challenges associated with repatriating their profits from Zimbabwe. He said there were also growing concerns about Chinese nationals that were violating Zimbabwe's immigration laws by entering the country on tourist visas when they had travelled for job opportunities.'It is not difficult for Chinese nationals to get investment permits in Zimbabwe,' Mr Muguti said. 'Why are you coming illegally? Let's follow the protocols. There is no need to bribe anyone and there is no need to hide. Let's do things properly.'The top government official did not have kind words for investors violating the country's environmental laws and desecrating graves of locals in mining areas. Chinese companies have been caught mining in Zimbabwe's game reserves after obtaining licences in unclear circumstances while others are involved in riverbed mining, leading to massive destruction of the water courses. There are also several cases of Chinese mining companies that are locked in conflicts with local communities after being accused of invading ancestral lands and desecrating graves.'We are noticing that some Chinese companies are digging up our ancestors' graves to extract granite or gold,' Mr Muguti said. 'Some of them are picking the bones and putting them aside to start digging. That's the greatest disrespect to any person, even in your culture. So, if we are not patient with one another, then we can't work together.'Steve Zhao, CEO of China-Zimbabwe Exchange Centre, which represents the interests of Chinese nationals, said most of the problems were caused by bureaucratic bottlenecks.'Chinese companies are facing a lot of trouble,' Mr Zhao said. 'After investing huge amounts like $5 million or $10 million, they are facing challenges. Some get Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency certificates but can't get work permits. Machinery is sitting idle because it can't operate. They end up doing something illegal, not because they want to, but because the system delays.'He said some of the conflicts between Chinese nationals and locals were caused by cultural differences and lack of understanding of the local labour laws.'There are a lot of new people coming in,' Mr Zhao added. 'They don't understand the local culture. They don't understand labour laws. That's why we are hosting workshops with banks and labour agents.'Zimbabwe and China have longstanding ties that developed during the southern African country's 1970s struggle for independence, but the relationship deepened in the early 2000s when the Asian giant started providing substantial aid and investment.. Over the past few years, there has been a steady stream of Chinese settling in Zimbabwe, lured by the widespread use of the US dollar and the strong ties between the two countries. But there are growing tensions between the locals and Chinese nationals due to alleged widespread violations of labour rights and clashes over land, especially in mining areas. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( Kitsepile Nyathi

Zawya
14-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Visit to Japan by H.E. Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe
H.E. Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe will pay a visit to Japan from July 14 to 18. During his stay in Japan, President Mnangagwa will participate in the Zimbabwean National Day Event of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, on July 16, as the official guest of the Government of Japan, as well as the Japan-Zimbabwe Business Forum. The visit of President Mnangagwa is expected to further develop the bilateral relations between Japan and Zimbabwe. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.