|
|
|
|
|
Double Speak
We have just had a team from the IMF here. Headed by the Director for
Africa
they stated that their reason for coming to Zimbabwe was a last ditch
attempt to head off the compulsory expulsion of Zimbabwe from the IMF
for
non-payment of our debt to the IMF. Their press release following the
visit
talked of a meeting with President Mugabe and a restatement of the
Funds
position on Zimbabwe and what we needed to do to pull us back from the
edge.
These multilateral institutions operate on the basis that their members
are
all independent governments and that their own debt in each country, is
a
first priority when it comes to debt servicing. There is scant regard
paid
to the circumstances under which the debt was originally incurred or
the
direct consequences of the debtor countries own actions and self
inflicted
damage.
So you have the IMF and the World Bank and their many affiliates,
dealing
with countries like the Congo. Even though the Congo hardly has a
government
and is about as a corrupt and incompetent a collection of people you
can
find anywhere. Because they describe their activities in these terms,
the
multilateral institutions work on the assumption that what they are
doing in
the world economic system is good, irrespective of the mounting
evidence to
the contrary.
Before Independence in Zimbabwe, the then settler regime had no
relations
with any of the multilaterals. Forced to rely on their own resources
and
ingenuity, they established a small, reasonably honest government,
which
administered the countries resources and economy with remarkable
efficiency.
When we came to independence in 1980 we had a currency which was
stronger
than the US dollar and the British pound in local markets, there was
virtually no black market for anything, the country had a small export
orientated economy which delivered to its people an income per capita
that
was second only to South Africa in the region. Our food was the
cheapest in
Africa and our small but sophisticated medical and education system
delivered services that were unrivalled on the Continent.
We now live in a country where all of those foundations have been swept
away. We have a large, inflated government that is corrupt from the top
to
the bottom, our local currency is worthless, our export industries are
in
ruin and one third of our total population has fled the country -
mainly for
political and economic reasons. We are now near the bottom of the log
in
terms of income per capita and our social infrastructure is in a
shambles -
producing school graduates that can hardly read or write and are not
functionally numerate. We have seen the fastest collapse of life
expectancy
of any country in the world that is not embroiled in conflict.
The reasons are not sanctions as the Mugabe regime sprouts at every
opportunity - the Rhodesians spent 15 years under UN mandatory
sanctions and
survived, they are not colonial - we never were a colony in the strict
sense
of the word, we were a self governing dominion within the Commonwealth
from
virtually 1923. They were not conflict - the Rhodesians fought a
savage, no
holds barred civil war for 8 years before they succumbed to
international
and region pressure.
No, this collapse in our economy, our social infrastructure and society
is
totally self-inflicted. We have no one else to blame but ourselves. We
decided to live beyond our means; we decided to undermine the rule of
law
and the sanctity of our own constitution. We subverted our Courts and
neglected our civil service. We wasted our scarce resources on the
senseless
war in the Congo and on patronage extended to a political minority on
whom
the State depends for survival.
No, our scars are self inflicted and just for once, I would like to
hear
someone - anyone, from any of the multilateral institutions say so. The
UN,
the UNDP, the IMF and the World Bank, the ADB. Anyone. But there is
nothing
but silence and double speak such as we heard this week from the IMF.
I would have thought that a much higher priority for Zimbabwe than the
servicing of IMF loans would be feeding the people, treating the
victims of
the Aids pandemic, providing for the million children who are Aids
orphans.
What about the thousands of pensioners who have not had their pensions
paid
for the past year or even longer, many of whom are starving and
dependent on
others for survival. What about the billions of dollar (real dollars)
of
assets stolen from their rightful owners with no prospect of
compensation or
legal redress? I would have thought that the IMF should demand these
priorities as preconditions to membership, not simply the repayment of
debt
by a starving nation that is on its knees.
We all know that only democratic states that respect the rule of law
have
any chance of success in economic and social terms. Where are the
stated
priorities of these multilaterals on these issues? If we are going to
bring
delinquent governments like the Mugabe regime into line, we all have to
speak the same language and play the same tune. Instead we have the
State
owned Herald with banner headlines stating that the IMF has thrown
Zimbabwe
a lifeline. Giving Mugabe the slightest hope that he will be forgiven
for
all that he has done will only perpetuate the agony, not solve the
problem.
Just this past week we have seen the Zanu juggernaut at work - setting
the
democratic clock back another 20 years, harassing the opposition and
civil
society at every opportunity and subverting the rule of law and
virtually
every tenet of sound democratic practice. We are not making progress -
we
are going backwards, economically, socially, politically. We are losing
ground on every front and it is our people who are paying the price. We
expect the international community and its representative organs to
defend
the principles of freedom and progress whenever they are given the
opportunity. So when the IMF comes to Harare and engages the State and
defends its position with double speak instead of plain talking, we
have
every reason not to trust them with our future.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 21st November 2004
|