Zimbabwe: Neoliberal Austerity means Misery for the Popular Masses

But also better life for the middle class and prosperity for the comprador bourgeoisie

By Daud Sibanda, Correspondent in Zimbabwe, Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 25 July 2019, www.thecommunists.net

History has taught us and the world over that neoliberal policies do not work for the poor but for the rich. What it does is that it widens the inequality gap between the poor and the rich. At the same time, it places the middle class in a better position and leaves them temporarily well off but not rich.

This vicious cycle repeats itself all over again endlessly with no permanent solution to the inherent problems and contradictions of system of capitalism. Capitalism only creates temporary reliefs and in the process creates new major complex problems.

In Zimbabwe we have seen financial and fiscal authorities/technocrats failing to learn from history and falling for the same trappings of the past mistakes made by their predecessors. It has been tried several times before to implement these neoliberal policies to no avail, without any positive results but only negative ones.

Currently we have seen the financial gurus, the so called technocrats adopting these neoliberal policies in the form of Zimbabwe is open for business, austerity for prosperity and a wholesome of other fiscal policies that have only aggravated the already bad economic situation and state we are in. This mess has just gotten messy, these are just but fancy changed names and nothing new. Churning one blueprint after another has become the norm especially in Africa, blueprints that don’t address the real fundamental problems on the ground but issues to do with serving the interests of imperialists elsewhere and a few comprador bourgeoisie classes.

Unfortunately, poor people are the most exposed and affected by these measures. Fuel has been increased twice, and we are experiencing a runaway inflation rate, ballooning by each day/month. The annual inflation rate hit 175 percent in June. (1)

Power load shedding and frequent water cuts have become daily food and a normal trend. Zimbabwe is generating less than half of its peak winter electricity demand. Its largest hydropower plant, Kariba, is operating at low capacity – officially due to a drought but in fact because of corruption and state incompetence. (2)

Prices of basic commodities are skyrocketing without any remorse or arrest measures in sight. Because of these measures the poor people can no longer afford a decent meal and can no longer afford decent transport to work. The state, despite increasing the fuel prices and leaving the people at the mercy of the cartel vultures, has introduced only a temporary relief in the form of cheap public transport. However, this is not enough to cater for the large numbers of the working people. Hence people shove and push to board these buses and some even get into the bus via windows. This is what the poor of people Zimbabwe have been reduced to – barbaric animals.

It is high time for socialists to organize and to fight against these never-ending series of neoliberal attacks!

Footnotes:

1) https://www.enca.com/business/zimbabwe-inflation-rate-soars-175

2) https://www.enca.com/business/zimbabwes-econet-weighs-drastic-measures-over-untenable-power-cuts