Interrogating Mthuli Ncube's 'Austerity for Prosperity': Will ESAP 2 work where ESAP 1 failed?*

In the weeks leading up to the poorly kept secret of his impeding appointment, he campaigned hard for the position, coming out of a long diasporan silence to write articles outlining what he would do to tame Zimbabwe’s unwieldly economy. His many slavish supporters played up his scholarly qualifications, the international finance organisations where he had been a functionary and so forth.

It was as if the man could walk on water like Jesus purportedly did, or leap over skyscrapers with a single bound, like Superman. Given all the hype around him, his eventual appointment in October 2018 was almost an anti-climax.

It wasn’t long before he began to backtrack on some of his pre-appointment expressed views, such as the need to swiftly ‘abolish’ the widely derided ‘bond note’ currency/non-currency (which it is depends on who you ask, and what time of day it is.) Having been parachuted into his position after more than a decade in places like Switzerland, the Zimbabwean social, economic and political realities quickly, rudely began to dawn on him.

READ MORE - Interrogating Mthuli Ncube's 'Austerity for Prosperity': Will ESAP 2 work where ESAP 1 failed?*

What South Africa's 'Zumaville' could learn from Zimbawe's growth points

There's a raging controversy in South Africa about the perceived favoritism in bringing 'development' to the president's rural home, Nkandla. Almost the entire debate is about whether or not the planned 'development' is being done there because it is the president's home. There is almost no discussion in the South African media about whether the project really is likely to meaningfully and sustainably result in an improvement in the lives of the people of the area. Zimbabwe's experience with rural 'growth points' suggests that the proposed 'Zumaville' scheme is not the way to 'develop' an area.

READ MORE - What South Africa's 'Zumaville' could learn from Zimbawe's growth points

Is the aid-dependent neocolonialism in Malawi what would be in store for Zimbabwe under an MDC government?

by Chido Makunike

New Malawian president Joyce Banda has wasted no time in trying to undo as much of the legacy of her late predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, as possible. Her main thrust can be quite simply summarized as: bend over backwards to do all that is necessary to appease the Western 'donors.' A deep practical and psychological donor dependence on the West is nothing at all new in Africa. It is a major, tragic hallmark of relations between post-'independence' Africa and its former colonizers. But in recent years there had begun to be a stirring of  African interrogation of this debilitating disease. It is therefore startling that in 2012, there is an African president who appears to almost proudly put the dependence of her country on foreign 'donors' as the cornerstone of her plans for her country's future. Would a similar fate befall Zimbabwe under Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC party if they came to power?

READ MORE - Is the aid-dependent neocolonialism in Malawi what would be in store for Zimbabwe under an MDC government?

Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy and how Bingu wa Mutharika’s World Bank experience didn’t seem to be of much help to Malawi

The death of Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika at 78 of a heart attack seems to have been met with very little public sorrow. Yet he came into office in 2004 on a wave of popular support, tremendous goodwill and with his country folks’ very high expectations of what he would achieve for Malawi. One key reason for those high hopes was that he was formerly ‘a World Bank economist.’ What are we to make of the fact that such an impressively pedigreed ‘technocrat’ has left ‘the warm heart of Africa’ with such cold feelings towards him?

READ MORE - Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy and how Bingu wa Mutharika’s World Bank experience didn’t seem to be of much help to Malawi

Would an African Word Bank president make any difference to Africa?

World Bank president Robert Zoelick is stepping down in June, and there is a frenzy of speculation about whether he will be succeeded by the institution’s first non-American. Former World Bank vice president and current Nigerian finance minister Nogozi Okonjo-Iweala is being touted as ‘Africa’s candidate.’ Is there any reason for Africans to be excited about the talk of her candidature?

READ MORE - Would an African Word Bank president make any difference to Africa?

The missing links in Zimbabwe’s drive for a successful China-like State capitalism

by Chido Makunike

Today’s China is perhaps the most successful example of ‘State capitalism.’ There are those who caution that the model is not all it seems, and that it is not sustainable. Even if that were the case, there is no doubt that China has become a dynamic global economic power under a type of controlled free market economy largely run by the State. Why has China’s model of State capitalism worked, while those of countries like Zimbabwe flounder?

READ MORE - The missing links in Zimbabwe’s drive for a successful China-like State capitalism

The messy nexus of land, property rights and race in Southern Africa

by Chido Makunike

Eddie Cross is an MDC MP with strong, frequently publicly articulated views on many issues, including the hot one of land. He has sometimes been referred to as the MDC’s ‘policy advisor,’ so his views on this subject are interesting as a window into the ‘advice’ he gives to his party on this deeply contentious issue. He argues that traditional, communal ownership of land; without individual title deeds, works against ‘development’ and against freedom and democracy. How do his arguments tie into Zimbabwe’s past and present?

READ MORE - The messy nexus of land, property rights and race in Southern Africa

Is IMF/World Bank work experience good recommendation for leadership in Africa?

Chido Makunike

One of the most socially prestigious kinds of work experiences a person can have on his or her CV in Africa is a senior position at the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or similar institution. Almost no one knows what being ‘director’ or ‘senior vice president’ at these organizations involves, but the social cachet that goes with it for an African is tremendous. Inevitably, very often the next mountain these international bureaucrats believe their experience qualifies them for is to lead their country. But is this kind of career background particularly good recommendation and experience for problem-solving in Africa?

READ MORE - Is IMF/World Bank work experience good recommendation for leadership in Africa?

Using Nigeria’s oil curse lessons to avoid a diamond curse in Zimbabwe

Nigeria is in turmoil as the country’s citizens react in outrage at the government’s lifting of an oil subsidy that kept petroleum products priced low. Almost all articles about the crisis mention how many Nigerians consider that the subsidy is one of the few ways they benefit from their country’s vast oil wealth. Are there lessons from this for Zimbabwe as it quickly becomes a global diamond powerhouse?

READ MORE - Using Nigeria’s oil curse lessons to avoid a diamond curse in Zimbabwe

ZANU-PF’ ‘empowerment, MDC’s ‘more investment’ need not be seen as contradictory

ZANU-PF and the MDC will start 2012 with a heightened awareness that a crucial election for them and for the country is not far away, whatever the final dates will be. As the parties sell themselves to the voters, it has become clear that their visions of how to bring about an economically prosperous Zimbabwe are starkly different. But are ‘empowerment’ and ‘attracting investment’ best thought of as opposing philosophies, or as two sides of the same coin?

READ MORE - ZANU-PF’ ‘empowerment, MDC’s ‘more investment’ need not be seen as contradictory

Perhaps Zimbabwe’s real problem is of dysfunctional values needing change, not just bad politics

by Chido Makunike

It is understandable that many Zimbabweans look to the political arena for the big answers to the many problems that plague their country. Many hope a pivotal election in the next year or so will be clean and decisive enough to set a clear direction and provide certainty for the country in a way it seems to lack now. Could this reposing of trust in the political process be misplaced?

READ MORE - Perhaps Zimbabwe’s real problem is of dysfunctional values needing change, not just bad politics

Another day, another award for Zimbabwe: '2nd poorest country globally'

Is this a new day? Then surely someone somewhere is cooking up another award for Zimbabwe. Indeed; this time it is the announcement by an American magazine that Zimbabwe is the "second poorest country in the world."

READ MORE - Another day, another award for Zimbabwe: '2nd poorest country globally'

Zimbabwe 'wins' 6th place on 'Failed States Index'

Over the last several years Zimbabweans have wearily got used to their country being considered a sort of poster child for how a country should not be run. There is not shortage of indices of how Zimbabwe has precipitously fallen by many social and economic measures. Even as things have slowly begun to turn around , there comes another ranking showing how tough it will be for Zimbabwe to change its image, in addition to its reality.

READ MORE - Zimbabwe 'wins' 6th place on 'Failed States Index'

Is UN Human Development Index too simplistic to explain a mess like Zimbabwe's?

A blogger at the World Bank mentions that in 2010 Zimbabwe had the world's lowest Human Development Index, measured by a combination of life expectancy, schooling and income. Martin Ravallion then poses the question of how likely it is that each of these variables can be quickly improved to remove Zimbabwe from its 'lowest' HDI ranking. But as is often the case when trying to put numbers to describe complex situations, the figures may conceal as much as they reveal.

READ MORE - Is UN Human Development Index too simplistic to explain a mess like Zimbabwe's?