Former Movement for Democratic Change policy advisor Eddie Cross, who once said Zimbabwe will be a different country by March next year, now says Zimbabwe seems to be rudderless as no one seems to be in charge.
He says some business leaders he talked to said at least in former President Robert Mugabe’s day, everyone knew who the boss was. If Mugabe gave an order, it was followed without question.
“Now no one seems in charge – there are many centres of power in this new Regime,” Cross writes on his blog.
“When is someone, anyone, going take charge and say that this madness must stop and stop, NOW? We clearly do not want the Military to respond. Done that once and we are grateful, but never again please.
“So that leaves us with the current President who is elected and will run our affairs for at least the next 5 years. Can he do it, yes he can, will he do so? I just do not know and that is the problem. Only he has the power to call the shots and we need him to do so.”
Cross says Mnangagwa can do six things to bring the country back on track and these are:
- Firstly, please bring the market chaos under control – not by dictate because that would just make matters worse, but by allowing market forces to sort out supply and demand and set values. Take the Reserve Bank out of the market for currency, stop stealing hard currency, allow our banks to trade and float the local dollar. And do not delay, do it like we did on the 17th February 2009. You will be very surprised by the market response.
- Secondly, set a clear time table and list of targets for the reform of our legal system so that we implement the 2013 Constitution in full in three years. Do not do it by subterfuge, like indigenisation, but do it openly and properly so that the world can see we are at last putting our legal and political house in order.
- Thirdly, start the process of cleaning up our politicized and compromised Judicial system. Begin with the Chief Justice and the Judge President and then allow them to review the entire bench down to Magistrate level. Give us a powerful and totally independent Prosecutor General who will take no prisoners when it comes to fighting corruption and enforcing the law.
- Fourthly, respect our property rights. Start by fulfilling your commitment to pay compensation that is fair and affordable to all those who have lost property to the State – and it’s not just the former farmers – it includes Mawere. Stop all those who are using their political connections to abuse the rights of others. Insist on the Courts enforcing contracts and the Police in following Court instructions – to the letter.
- Fifthly, if taking your comrades to the cleaners over past violations of the law or corruption is too much to ask, draw a line in the sand and say that all who did those sorts of things before the recent elections are given a blanket Presidential Pardon and protection from prosecution. But then, demand that all such activities stop immediately or else those who are continuing to abuse their posts will face severe penalties and the full weight of the law for both present and past violations of the law.
- Finally, insist on everyone making decisions on all outstanding matters, even if in the process some mistakes are made. No decisions are much more damaging than poor decisions. The present situation where nothing is moving ahead, no Parastatals are being privatised, new investments are being held up by Officials and Ministers who have no stakes in the outcome. Just look at projects that have collapsed because of delays – ESSAR and ZISCO, Hwange rehabilitation, new power stations – Sengwa and Lususlu; the Railways. Look at the list of projects that have been delayed – the new regional fuel pipeline, the Zimcoke investment in ZISCO, new mining activities all over the country. This has cost Zimbabwe billions of dollars in new investment and GDP, even exports.
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