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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Zim Bank chief deserves Nobel if he brokers contract |
| 2007-02-05 |
| Zimbabwe central bank chief Gideon Gono has a greater chance of success brokering a truce in war-torn Iraq than he has trying to get the government, labour and business agree on a common plan to fix the countryÂ’s bleeding economy, analysts said Wednesday. Gono pleaded for a social contract, openly admitting that the governmentÂ’s unilateral approach and a raft of laws and controls it had imposed in a bid to right the economy had failed. The only option left was for labour, the government and employers to come together and agree on a sustainable way out of the quagmire, said Gono, who is widely regarded as President Robert MugabeÂ’s trouble shooter on the economy. But previous attempts at achieving a social contract have faltered as the parties to the country's Tripartite Negotiating Forum have disagreed over pricing and productivity issues. This has forced the government to try and go it alone by establishing a statutory Pricing and Incomes Commission that will regulate salaries and prices across the economy. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has rejected such a commission while business has accused the government of unilateralism and failure to consult. University of Zimbabwe political scientist John Makumbe said chances of the social contract working under Zimbabwe's current environment were slim because there was simply no common position or understanding among the three parties on most of the major economic issues. Labour Research Institute analyst Prosper Chatambara said a huge obstacle to a social contract was the lack of political will to take the hard decisions necessary to fix the economy. He said this was so because GonoÂ’s principals in the ruling ZANU PF party and the government were the ones benefiting the most from the countryÂ’s economic collapse. Analysts said Gono would have fared better by addressing more fundamental issues such as the exchange rate and the high cost of borrowing money. The governor refused to bow to market pressure to devalue the Zimbabwe dollar, insisting that allowing the local currency to slide would not solve the country's economic woes. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #2 No, to fix the economy, we just need to get rid of all the non-Shona speakers. Once there is only one tribe, there will be peace, justice, and harmony. |
| Posted by: Robert Mugabe 2007-02-05 15:10 |
| #1 You want to fix Zim's economy? Get rid of Bob and his mob. That's a start. |
| Posted by: Spot 2007-02-05 08:49 |