Guest Column: Tendai Ruben Mbofana

AS I write this article, the government of Zimbabwe is launching its so-called strategic roadmap for a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023, officiated by President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa — characterised by the now all too familiar high-sounding programmes, plans, policies, and projections for a very prosperous country, that Zimbabweans have been subjected to for decades, but to no avail.

However, as I attentively listen to the Minister of Mines and Mining Development Winston Chitando talk lyrically and optimistically about how this vision is going to be attained, there is something that stands out — something that has always stood out with all other Zimbabwe government economic blueprints and policies — the omission of the word “sanctions”.

Ever since the imposition of targeted sanctions on several Zimbabwe entities and top officials by Western countries, particularly the United States (US) and European Union (EU) in 2002 — ostensibly for gross human rights abuses and electoral fraud — the government has never failed to blame these for the economy’s dismal performance.

In fact, as the country currently goes through its worst economic performance in 10 years, the “sanctions are to blame for everything going wrong” tirade has only intensified — further emboldened by the blind support offered by Sadc and African Union (AU), who have declared October 25, 2019 a “remove sanctions on Zimbabwe day”.

These so-called sanctions — which are, in fact, mainly travel bans and a prohibition to trade with listed entities associated with targeted top officials, and those accused of involvement in human rights abuses — have been blamed for the current shortages of nearly everything, including both foreign and local currency, fuel, electricity, water, medication, school equipment, jobs, as well as the ever-soaring prices of basic commodities.

However, what always baffles my mind is that, whenever the Zimbabwe government announces its overly-optimistic economic blueprints and visions, there is hardly any mention of these so-called sanctions as a condition for either their success or failure.

If sanctions are truly responsible for the economy’s free-fall — and the only way out of this abyss is their lifting — then why would that not be central to all the government’s “turnaround” programmes?

Should we not be hearing such mantras as: “Zimbabwe is open for business — only if sanctions are lifted, Zimbabwe will be an upper middle income economy by 2030 — only if sanctions are to be removed, or today’s US$12 billion mining industry by 2023 — only if sanctions are lifted”?

Has the Zimbabwe government not gone out of its way to convince both citizens and the international community that there can never be any meaningful economic recovery if sanctions remain in place?

With the current hyped up anti-sanctions drive preceding October 25, 2019 “Sadc sanctions must go” event, one would have believed that without this “albatross” being removed, there can never be any hope for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.

Therefore, the question is: “If sanctions are not a factor in the success of government’s various economic blueprints and policies, then just how real are these sanctions as a hindrance to the country’s development?”

The convenient manner in which the government seemingly forgets these so-called sanctions in the formulation of their economic blueprints and policies proves that they have never been a factor in the suffering of Zimbabweans.

Meanwhile, if the government is to allege that the reason for omitting to factor in sanctions in their development plans is that they have found ways round them, then this still disproves their “sanctions are to blame” fallacy, as it shows that — even if these sanctions had been real — the authorities could have so easily formulated policies to circumvent them…but, they failed to do so.

If that were the case, then it would expose the government’s disingenuousness, as it has been blaming sanctions for its own failures in coming up with sound economic policies — thereby, falsely blaming sanctions.

If government is so confident that it can achieve an upper middle income economy by 2030, or attract sufficient businesses and foreign direct investment to uplift people’s lives, or receive US$12 billion from the minerals industry by 2023 (notwithstanding billions more from other sectors, such as agriculture, tourism and so forth) — with or without sanctions — then who is to blame for our current economic malaise?

Certainly not sanctions.

In fact, ever since Mnangagwa took over after the ouster of then President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, we have been told of tremendous interest in investing in the country by numerous foreign companies — characterised by groundbreaking ceremonies, launches and other events — yet, we are told, in the same breath, that sanctions are preventing the opening of businesses and creation of jobs in the country!

Have any of these companies that are showing interest in Zimbabwe ever been threatened by the US or EU not to invest in the country?

If there are any such companies, could they please come forward and tell the people of Zimbabwe that the reason they have not invested in the country is because of sanctions, or that although they have invested, they are receiving pressure from Western countries to disinvest, or are finding it difficult to trade due to sanctions.

Similarly, the country realised US$3,2 billion from the mineral industry in 2018, and is targeting US$4,2 billion for this year — yet, these so-called sanctions are still very much in place!

Is it then not clear that sanctions have absolutely nothing to do with our dire situation, but that the reason why there are such shortages of foreign and local currency, fuel, electricity, water, medication and many others, as well as soaring prices of basic commodities, unemployment of nearly 90%, company closures and lack of reasonable investment is all due to government’s own incompetence and corruption?

The government should know that the people of Zimbabwe are a very enlightened lot, and will never be hoodwinked by its own failures into believing that travel bans on some top officials and restrictions on certain entities are responsible for our economic suffering. We know exactly how we got here — government incompetence and corruption.
Simple and straightforward.

Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, author and speaker. Email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com.

Guest column: Paidamoyo Muzulu

TAXATION is the backbone of any national economy. The taxman has to collect revenue efficiently and ideally as equitably as possible from all the citizens and business. However, in many countries, including Zimbabwe, the wealthy and big businesses do not carry a fair share of the burden.

Last week, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube presented his 2020 budget strategy paper and the neo-liberal Treasury chief once again nailed his colours to the mast, and big capital would be smiling all the way to the bank as the poor and working class continue to carry a disproportionate burden of making the State work.

In his statement, Ncube said: “The 2020 budget will focus on enhancing revenue collection through advancing the ongoing Zimra and other administrative reform initiatives on broadening the tax base and closing revenue leakages,”adding that: “The revenue improving measures will, however, also be cognisant of the necessity of supporting the local industry through appropriate tax supportive measures and other tax dispensations.”

The devil is in the detail, but in this instance he only gave a pie-chart of the percentages of the revenues to be collected from taxpayers in 2020 and 2021. Companies will contribute 8,7% while value-added tax (VAT) will contribute 32% and individuals 9,5%. In 2021, companies will contribute 7,9%, while VAT and individuals will pay 32,3% and 8,9%, respectively.

VAT and Pay-As-You-Earn are the easiest picks for Treasury, simply because they are paid by individuals (working class and pensioners), who in most instances have no resources to hide their taxes evade the tax master. Ncube is not bothered by the increasing poverty levels among the working class as he goes on to promise business further tax cuts.

“The 2020 national budget will, therefore, review the existing tax incentives with a view of further improving productivity. Focus will be on rebates, exemptions and other tax and duty dispensations in support of exporters, special economic zones and projects qualifying for national projects status across all sectors of the economy,” Ncube emphasised.

The minister’s reliance on individual taxes and VAT exposes his support for big business and disregard for the poor working class. Debate around the world from progressive politicians is now centred on taxing the big technology companies and the super-wealthy individuals, most of who inherited wealth or are making obscene profits from investments that the working class can only dream of.

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron’s government broke ranks with other European Union countries and passed legislation to tax 3% on big tech companies on all business generated from France.

“The 3% tax will be levied on sales generated in France by multinational firms like Google and Facebook. The French government has argued that such firms headquartered outside the country pay little or no tax,” the BBC reported.

Across the channel, Britain is also toying with the idea of taxing big tech companies and hope to raise as much as US$4 billion within the first two years of implementation.

The United States, the richest nation on earth in terms of gross domestic product and infrastructure development, is having a serious discussion as the country heads for the 2020 presidential elections.

The most topical thing among Democrat candidates is the question of taxing the wealthy and redistributing it through social programmes like national health insurance, social housing and free tertiary education.

Democrat contender Berrnie Sanders, a socialist-leaning legislator, has proposed an aggressive anti-rich plan to tax billionaires.

“In order to reduce the outrageous level of inequality that exists in America today and to rebuild the disappearing middle class, the time has come for the United States to establish an annual tax on the extreme wealth of the top 0,1% of US households,” Sanders proposes in his election manifesto.

Another potential candidate, Elizabeth Warren, one of the front-runners for the Democratic presidential race, has called for a 2% annual tax on the wealth of individuals that have assets in excess of $50 million and a 3% tax on the wealth of people with over $1 billion.

It is not only politicians who think this way, two highly respected Yale University law professors Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott have also extensively written about wealth tax.

“We propose a 2% annual wealth tax on households owning more than $7,2 million in net assets. Such a tax would target the 0,5% of Americans at the top of the pyramid, and would yield at least $70 billion a year. This calculation is based on Federal Reserve data that we have updated to take into account the recession’s impact on housing and stock prices to 2009.
Because we have used very conservative assumptions, the revenue yield could well be higher,” Ackerman and Alstott wrote in their seminal paper.

Considering the aforementioned, it could be high time that Zimbabweans engage in a robust and candid debate on taxation in the country.

That Ncube could be bold enough to tackle big business is akin for one to seek ice cubes in hell, hence progressive forces in the country should rally together and demand that the wealth should equitably carry their fair share of the tax burden.

Zimbabwe has potential to finance free tertiary education, national health insurance and affordable housing for the working class, if only the Executive has the spine and can boldly look the beast of big business in the eye and demand a fair pound of flesh from their obscene wealth.

Society has never been about equality and we only seek equity in tax payment.

Paidamoyo Muzulu is a journalist and writes here in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on muzulu.p@gmail.com

By Miriam Mangwaya

A CHIVHU communal farmer has lost his entire head of 12 cattle after spraying them with a wrong dipping chemical.

Taziva Madondo’s cattle died on Monday soon after he had finished spraying them with Diazinon 30 EC, an insecticide for garden use.

Chikomba district veterinary doctor, Tafadzwa Mashawi confirmed the incident.

“I received information that a farmer had sprayed his cattle with a wrong chemical, but I have not yet received finer details from the vet officer who attended the scene,” Mashawi said.

Madondo, of Chirinda village in Chief Chivese’s area, told NewsDay that he purchased the insecticide from a pharmacy in Chivhu intending to kill insects in his fowl run and he assumed that it would also work on cattle ticks.

“Unfortunately, all the cattle reacted negatively soon after I had finished spraying them so I couldn’t do anything to save them. Luckily, I had not yet used it in the fowl run,” he said.

The villager said since he uses cattle for draught power, this farming season could be a difficult one after losing his entire head.

By Sports Reporter

Zimbabwean football has been dealt a huge blow following the passing on yesterday of coach Partson Ndabambi at his rural home in Gokwe.

Burial is set for Gokwe today.

Ndabambi, a passionate football person, had been unwell for the past two months, but his health is said to have deteriorated in the past month.

He coached several teams, among them Shooting Stars and ZPC Kariba.

Zifa described Ndabambi as a football servant who dedicated much of his life to the development of the local game.

“It is with deep regret and shock that we learnt of the death of Partson Ndabambi, a distinguished servant of football. He had great passion for football development and worked with great dignity with clubs which included Amazulu, Shooting Stars, ZPC Kariba, among others.

“He dedicated much of his life to the upliftment of the game and his demise is a huge loss to our game.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends in this difficult moment of grieving.

“As an association, we shall honour his memory by continuing to promote development of football so that our shared dream can one day be realised. May the soul of our dearly departed, father, brother, colleague and teammate rest in eternal peace.”

Guest column: Tendai Makaripe

AN ANONYMOUS author once wrote: “The memory of the Middle East is too long, too great, too accurate; nothing is ever forgotten, nothing is ever forgiven, everything is remembered and everything will be avenged.”

This statement pertinently sums up how events in the Middle East are not treated in isolation, but rather viewed as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that when joined together, convey meaning.

Misdemeanours do not go unpunished, retribution may take time, but it will eventually be handed.

For Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, otherwise known as the Shah, the monarchical Iranian leader between September 1941 and February 1979, these object lessons were learnt the hard way.

His glaring errors, wanton disregard for human rights and an unmatched penchant for looting, among other depravities, were neither forgiven nor forgotten.

Instead, they were avenged in a way that ensured the revolution would forever be engraved in the annals of history.

The much-publicised insurrection led to the toppling of the Shah from the country’s hot seat on February 11, 1979.

He was replaced by a cleric and one of the Shah’s sharp critiques, Ayatollah Khomeini, who immediately instituted an Islamic republic.

This region, aptly termed the global religious and political melting pot, chronically war-prone and the site of the world’s most protracted conflicts, which have kept the world on the edge of its seat since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, provides valuable lessons for contemporary and future politicians.

A reading of the pre-revolution events in Iran bears a striking resemblance with the current Zimbabwean socio-economic and political situation, which leaves one wondering whether history will repeat itself on this side of the Mediterranean, as alluded to by the late Spanish philosopher, George Santayana, who noted that: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

The Shah, being the head of an absolute monarchy exercising ultimate governing authority as head of State and head of government; possessing powers not limited by a constitution or by the law, used this power to amass enormous wealth.

He reaped the benefit of skyrocketing global oil prices, especially the 1973 oil boom, when prices quadrupled and revenues poured into the national coffers. Now the Shah was free to indulge his twin tastes: Luxury and paranoia.

The Iranian people loathed his profligate spending because they continued to wallow in abject poverty and squalor despite realising massive wealth from oil.

They lived with bitterness every day of their lives, a sullenness that grew daily, until it eventually exploded in the Sha’s face.

His proclivity for an extravagant lifestyle and how it architected his downfall can be an important lesson for the current political leadership in Zimbabwe, whose weakness for an extravagant lifestyle amid economic calamity can eventually blow up in their faces.

Neoliberal policies, centred on austerity, which in itself never succeeded anywhere in Africa, are enforced as feeding troughs for the local ruling elite, who milk suffering citizens through taxes and squander the proceeds.

They globe-trot in multi-million-dollar private jets like the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which cost US$74 000 per hour to hire, while the impoverished citizenry are bearing the brunt of high transport fares, which are making it difficult for them to move from one point to the other.

The poverty datum line has shot to over $1 000, ensuring that a decent lifestyle for the ordinary person under this economy remains a pipe dream. On the contrary, those strolling the country’s corridors of power are well fed. Those in touch with reality can attest to the fact that most Zimbabweans are disgruntled, but just like pre-revolution Iran, their pain and discontentment are suppressed.

Will history, which has a knack of repeating itself, be witnessed again in Zimbabwe?

Will the dissatisfaction that manifested itself in Iran be witnessed again or the locals are not yet “revolutionary conscious”, in the words of philosopher Karl Marx.

Iran, just like Zimbabwe, endured serious economic problems during the Shah’s reign. There was massive hyperinflation, urban overcrowding, corrupt electoral processes, corrupt leaders and a large gap in the distribution of wealth. This gap was caused by the concentration of much of the wealth in the hands of a few elites, who were the leader’s acolytes.

Philosopher and author Frantz Fanon warns against this behaviour by leaders in the Wretched of the Earth, when he says: “The scandalous enrichment, speedy and pitiless of this caste is accompanied by a decisive awakening on the part of the people, and a growing awareness that promises stormy days to come.”

Whether stormy days lie ahead in Zimbabwe due to the people’s suffering remains to be seen.

What also left Iranians seething with anger was how the Shah dealt with dissenting voices.

With the help of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1957, he set up a notorious and brutal secret police force called the SAVAK, which employed 30 000 Iranians, 5 000 of who tortured, arrested, and killed thousands of the Shah’s opponents.

Thousands were tortured to death in its secret torture chambers, while others were gunned down in the streets, especially when the revolution was in full swing.

During the riots, martial law was instituted, and the Shah ordered his troops to shoot demonstrating crowds in Tehran.

The estimated death toll resulting from these public displays was over 3 000, but the total casualty figures were four times this number.

Unfortunately, for the Shah, the once powerless civilians could not stomach his ruthlessness any more.

They had lost friends, wives, children and relatives at the hands of the SAVAK and were prepared to put an end to this reign.

The tide had turned, the anger of the proverbial hungry man was set in motion, leaving the once-feared leader to capitulate.

Can local leaders not learn a lesson on the eventual consequences of using violence to quell dissenting voices? Was the Shah’s use of the SAVAK any different from the use of the army to deal with civilians in our case?

Was the gunning down of civilians in August 2018 and January 2019 not a carbon copy of the Tehran massacres?

This is exactly what political philosopher Nicolai Machiavelli advised against in his much-celebrated book The Prince, where he urges the prince to blend the traits of a lion and the fox.

Writes Machiavelli: “… because the lion cannot defend himself against traps and the fox cannot defend himself against wolves. Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the traps and a lion to frighten the wolves. Those who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are doing.”

The Iranian revolution provides important lessons for those possessing power. The question now is whether they are able to learn from history because in the words of the late American journalist, Sydney Harris: “History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done.”

Tendai Makaripe is a social commentator and writes here in his personal capacity

BY TAFADZWA MHLANGA

Zimbabwe’s bread price has shot up 61% to $15 after days of shortages, piling more misery on a citizenry already bearing the brunt of poor earnings.

This comes after the bread price had been continuously going up since last year due to shortage of wheat and foreign currency.

NewsDay yesterday visited Bakers Inn shops and witnessed bread retailing at $15 per loaf up from $9 previously. This was after bakers had initially informed trading partners that the new bread price was now pegged at $14 per loaf.

National Bakers Association of Zimbabwe (NBAZ) president Denis Wala said bread price increases were stemming from the rise of cost of production due to fuel prices and power cuts, forcing bakers to rely on costly generators as alternative power sources.

“The prices have been going up due to costs of operations as the bakers are now using generators to operate. The power cuts we are experiencing in the country have forced the bakers to rely on generators,” Wala said.

He added that the country has been facing bread shortages due to the scarcity of the subsidised bread flour they were using for the past few months, while the locally available flour was very expensive for bakers to purchase.

“There has been a shortage of bread in the country because the subsidised flour for bread that we have been using lately is no longer available and it is now difficult for the bakers to bake. There is, however, flour that is there which is a bit more expensive for the bakers to purchase, that is why there is no bread in the country,” he said.

Bread prices have since last year risen 1 600% from $0,90 a loaf to the current $15.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

THE World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked Zimbabwe at 127 among 141 countries on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), an indication that the southern African nation remains uncompetitive compared to other economies in the world.

Last year it was ranked 128 out of 140 countries.

In its latest assessment of the factors behind productivity and long-term economic growth, WEF ranked Zimbabwe at 127, close to the foot of the league table where it has been for two decades.

This effectively flies in the face of government’s “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra.

For that rank, the country scored 44,3 out of a possible 100, thereby remaining slightly below the average for sub-Saharan Africa as a whole and behind eight Southern African Development Community member States.

“Those who believe that it makes sense to try and maintain the local currency at par with the rand need to reconcile this proposal with the yawning gap between South Africa’s ranking (60th) in the Global Competitiveness table and Zimbabwe’s position of 127,” writes Tony Hawkins, a retired professor of economics in an article published recently in the NewsDay.

“Strikingly, the country scores best in the realm of private sector activity and worst where the State is in control,” he further wrote.

On the 12 pillars of competitiveness, among 141 countries, Zimbabwe ranks at 125th on institutions, infrastructure (129), ICT adoption (112), macro-economic stability (97), health (135), skills (110), product market (136), labour market (115), financial system (120), market size (115), business dynamism (129) and innovation capacity (126).

Hawkins indicated that on the upside, it is in the top half of countries ranked for reliance on professional management, willingness to delegate, entrepreneurial culture and attitudes towards risk, and the strength of auditing and reporting standards.

“It is in the top half also for the impact of organised crime and incidence of terrorism.”

The global competitiveness report is a tool to help the governments, private sector and civil society organisations to work together to boost productivity and generate prosperity across the globe. It gives an understanding of comparative analysis between countries and allows leaders to gauge areas that need strengthening and to build coordinated responses.

It further helps to identify best practices around the world and informs about the domestic level performance.

The WEF is a not-for-profit foundation established in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, which organises the annual Davos meeting for world leaders and billionaires.

by VENERANDA LANGA

HARARE mayor Herbert Gomba yesterday appealed to Parliament to make legislative reforms that will give powers to the city council to execute garnishing orders just like the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to recover over $800 million it is owed by ratepayers.

Gomba had appeared before the Felix Mhona-led Budget and Finance Portfolio Committee to give oral evidence on devolution financing, where he also disclosed that there was need to revamp the tax systems to ensure a percentage of taxes from businesses goes to local authorities to enable them to finance water and road infrastructure development which is currently in a shambles.

Council finance director Stanley Ndemera said: “There is an $800 million debt owed to council. We cannot recover that money unless we go through the courts. However, we would like the laws to be reviewed so that they allow us to act as Zimra to be able to garnish institutions that owe us because those debts date back to 10 years ago.”

Gomba then added: “For example, we visited the United States Stanford County and the commissioner of that county has garnishing powers. We appeal to Parliament for tax reforms on behalf of all local authorities because in each local authority there are businesses and mining companies and any tax reforms to that effect will enable those businesses to also benefit.”

Extending garnishee powers to council would help it to recover the $800 million so that the city improves on service delivery, Gomba said.

Harare town clerk Josiah Chisango said there was need for assistance at national level for improved access to water in the capital, especially to ensure that Kunzvi Dam and Sabi Dam bring relief in terms of water to the capital and its dormitory towns of Chitungwiza, Norton and Ruwa.

“The only tax that we collect is property tax and what we collect from property tax is not enough for us to revamp the infrastructure. We have other taxes charged on businesses which we do not have access to and if a percentage of that can come to HCC, we can develop our infrastructure,” Chisango said.

Acting chamber secretary Charles Kandemiri said Harare only collected $15 million monthly against $73 million expenditure, of which $45 million of that was for water cleaning chemicals.

“That is a serious mismatch and the budget has not changed. We are still operating on a 2018 budget on 1:1 rate, which means we are collecting 1:1, but spending at 1:20 rate and that does not work,” Kandemiri said.

The council said if the Public Finance Management Act is amended to include devolution financing, it would assist local authorities to pass their budgets on time instead of having to wait for two to three months for the Local Government ministry to approve their budgets.

MPs then asked the mayor to explain the controversy behind the US$144 million Chinese loan.

Gomba said the council only got US$72 million of that $144 million because government owed the Chinese a lot of money. He said during the era of former Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo, who had appointed a commission for Harare, a decision was made that vehicles should be bought using part of the US$72 million loan.

BY BRENNA MATENDERE

GWERU councillors yesterday upheld the suspension of town clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza over allegations of sleeping on the wheel.

Mayor Josiah Makombe handed Gwatipedza the suspension letter on Monday evening and a special council meeting was held yesterday to deliberate on the development.

At a media briefing soon after the meeting, Makombe said the councillors had unanimously upheld the suspension.

“I gave a letter of suspension to our town clerk madam Gwatipedza on Monday. We are just coming from a meeting, special council meeting where the issue was deliberated. The councillors unanimously upheld the suspension. What this means is that town clerk Gwatipedza is now on suspension pending all the processes that are required by the law,” Makombe said.

“As councillors we were not happy with the service delivery our residents have been getting. It is either there is no water or your refuse has not been collected or you are moving in untrafficable roads. So we were not happy with the direction the city was taking.”

Makombe said if Gwatipedza is cleared of any wrongdoing she can come back and continue with her duties at council.

“This is just a suspension. So what it means is that when you are suspended you are supposed to be invited to answer to the charges. So hopefully madam Gwatipedza will be able to join us again after the processes,” Makombe said.

Gweru council is dominated by MDC councillors and Makombe is the opposition party’s Midlands provincial chairperson while Gwatipedza is understood to be sympathetic to the ruling Zanu PF.

However, the mayor stressed that the suspension had nothing to do with politics.

“We are sworn politicians, but our management is of employees who are chosen on merit. So let me hasten to say the suspension has nothing to do with politics. It’s purely about issues of the employer and employee,” he said.

Gwatipedza refused to comment on the suspension.

“I have no comment,” she told Southern Eye.

Vimbai Chingwaramusee, Gweru council spokesperson, told Southern Eye that chamber secretary Vakai Douglas Chikwekwe is now the acting town clerk.

Employees in the horticulture sector have received a 71,36% salary increment which they, however, said was too little to cushion them from the prevailing economic hardships

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

ZIMBABWE’S agriculture industry has awarded its employees in the horticulture sector a 71,36% salary increment which is, however, too little to cushion them from the prevailing economic hardships.

Before the adjustment, the least paid employee in the horticulture sector was earning $213 a month, while the highest was taking home $421.

Following the latest adjustment, the lowest paid employee will now get $365 while the highest paid will earn $722.

In a circular, the National Employment Council for the agriculture industry said the wage review and agreement, signed on October 3, was reached by several parties, among them, the Zimbabwe Agricultural Employers Organisation, the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union, Zimbabwe Farmers Union, Commercial Farmers’ Union, General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe and the Horticulture General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe.

“An establishment or employees can apply to the National Employment Council within 14 days for an exemption or partial exemption or review from paying wages as set up in the above schedule, stating the reasons why that application should be considered,” reads part of the circular.

But Progressive Agriculture and Allied Industries Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe general secretary Raymond Sixpence described the new salary increment as a mockery.

“The money is not even enough. No one can survive on that kind of money. Things have gone up. Workers will not even be able to buy basic commodities like mealie-meal and cooking oil. We feel the lowest paid should at least get $1 000 a month,” he said.

Inflationary pressures have seen the cost of living rising beyond the reach of many in the southern African nation as prices of basic commodities have more than quadrupled in recent months, resulting in the poverty datum line for an average family of five skyrocketing by 15,18% to $1 617 in July.

Farm workers in Zimbabwe are among the least paid employees and classified as the “working poor”, despite the fact that agriculture is the backbone of the country’s economy.

At its peak, the sector used to provide 45% of the country’s exports, 60% of all raw materials used by local industry and 70% employment.