Zimbabwe has been under economic sanctions for the last 13 years and still reeling under the effects of these ruthless economic measures. The resilience of the people of Zimbabwe is breathtaking. The people of Zimbabwe have endured unimaginable distress, poverty and destitution as a result of the economic sanctions imposed without any due care or attention to the plight of the ordinary people. Under the circumstances when you look and analyse how the country has performed compared to other African countries in terms of economic growth rate then you understand the resolute spirit of the people of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe adopted the multi-currency regime in 2009 and the economy grew quite significantly with annual growth rates of over 10% in 2012 and eventually and gradually declining to growth rates of below 5%. That needs to be clarified to highlight clearly that the decline had nothing to do with government policy but rather the economy readjusting and reconfiguring itself from the Zimbabwe Dollar to the US Dollar. That is a fact and what we are witnessing in the economy is real growth. In the period 2009-2012 Zimbabwe had no manufacturing capacity to back the over 10.5% economic growth rate that was being touted as Biti’s economic prowess. The growth we have in Zimbabwe is real growth from a normal base. Here are some interesting statistics about economic growth in some African countries picked randomly and all these countries are not and have not been under economic sanctions for the past 13 years. Kenya had a growth rate of 4.7% revised to 5.7% in 2013 and in 2014 it is expected to be 4.9%, Lesotho 3.4% in 2013, 4.4% in 2014, Namibia 4.3% in 2013 and 4.2% in 2014. Zambia had a growth rate of 6.5% in 2013 and projected growth for 2014 is 7.1% and Angola had a growth rate of 5.1% in 2013. Botswana had a growth rate of 5.4% in 2013, Uganda 5.2% in 2013 and Mozambique 7% in 2013. Zimbabwe under the full impact of economic sanctions posted a modest growth rate of 4% in 2013. Food for thought.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:21:03 +0000
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