Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Zimbabwe government; it's bloated but it's broke

Zimbabwe's oversized government faces its biggest challenge from within yet as it has emerged that they are unable to pay themselves. Zimonline is reporting that the government cannot afford such basic necessities as stationary for everyday operations.
'Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government has suspended major capital projects and is considering retrenching up to 60 000 of its more than 160 000 workers as it sinks deeper into bankruptcy, authoritative sources told ZimOnline.

Hundreds of soldiers have already been told to stay at home because there is no money to pay for their upkeep in barracks while the cash crunch had also seen the government stopping new recruitments at its national youth training centres, whose graduates are accused of terrorising opposition supporters.

"There is no money to buy simple things like bond paper, pay for travel allowances or any other basics. Things are falling apart and there is panic," said a senior Finance Ministry official, who declined to be named.'
As far back as June, we heard good arguments against any further expansion of government.
Economic analyst and opposition member of parliament Eddie Cross said the country could not afford the perks and salaries of additional legislators.
It just didn't make any economic sense then, it still doesn't make any sense now. They cannot expect to be able to attract enough money into the national fiscus when they are piling up a chokehold pressure on the markets. Oh well, I guess they live to learn or learn by living.

Now, with soldiers being told to stay home they're right into the hands of the opposition nad giving it a much more restive public to court. If the MDC survives it's current internal wrangling, good times abound ahead. Believe it or not, ZANU-PF is close to governing itself out of power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

This explains why they are so irked at Christopher Dell, the US ambassador who said in a recent speech that,
"Neither drought nor sanctions are at the root of Zimbabwe’s decline. The Zimbabwe Government’s own gross mismanagement of the economy and its corrupt rule has brought on the crisis."
It's because he spoke truth. Who are the "perverts" now?


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