Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai lead his delegation to the pan African AgriBusiness Forum 2011 which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 16th to 19th October.  The Agribusiness Forum 2011, co-organized by the UNDP and EMRC focuses on developing Africa’s agricultural sector while fostering a greater role for the private sector. 

H.E. Morgan Richard Tsvangirai: The economic stability of Zimbabwe has many dimensions, all of which are fundamental to the revival of the economy.  Upon being established, the GNU implemented macro-economic reforms, including the multi-currency regime which immediately brought down inflation to 3%.  Economic recovery became possible and GDP grew at a rate of 5.7% during 2009 despite limited international support in the form of credit lines or budgetary funding.  Average industrial capacity utilization improved from below 10% in fourth quarter 2008 to around 35% by end of 2009.

The GNU has been instrumental in redefining the role of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) with regard to its relationship with the Ministry of Finance.  The RBZ had been involved with other activities which had nothing to do with its supervisory role of the monetary system of the country, and this saw a serious deterioration of the banking system, amongst other shortfalls. 

In agriculture, recovery has been slow.  This sector is important in the country’s economy accounting for 19% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 26% of the country’s export earnings and employing 0.5 Million people, with tobacco, cotton and horticulture contributing 30% in export earnings.  However, it has been difficult to finance agriculture in the face of poor land reforms and haphazard land resettlement.  The country needs to assist farmers with regards to inputs to small scale farmers, until such time as the commercial farming sector has been organized or restructured to allow the farmers to borrow money using the land as collateral.  The GNU has been instrumental in the reopening of hospitals and schools, improved water supply, especially in the face of cholera which erupted at the end of 2008 and saw fatalities reported in many parts of the country.  In the education sector, the GNU printed 13 million text books with the assistance of UNICEF.

Right now the GNU has reached stagnation levels.  Lines of credit have not been made available in order to enhance business and industry.  The country’s economy was based on an import substitution strategy due to sanctions under the Smith regime.  This has to change in order to accommodate other growth strategies that are relevant and inclusive, but investment and recapitalization of equipment and assets are required in order to accomplish this. 

EMRC: In Europe, we could appreciate your willingness to re-launch international cooperation partnerships with your country, for instance through your official visit in June 2009 and other visits around Africa.  According to you, what sectors of the economy need foreign investments and technical assistance?

MRT: Every sector of the economy needs assistance: education, health, infrastructure, mining, agriculture, industry, tourism, employment creation.  We cannot say enough of what needs to be done in Zimbabwe right now.  The country requires strategic partners as well as strategic investors in order to move forward on a sustainable economic path.

EMRC: After years of turbulence, your government is implementing political and economic reforms, which help you record economic growth, even if moderate with some signs of recovery across all industries.  Agriculture contributes less than 20% to Zimbabwe’s GDP, how do you plan moving from food crisis to food security in Zimbabwe?

MRT:  The government needs to deal with the issue of land tenure to allow farmers to borrow using land as collateral.  There has to be increased or rationalized land ownership in the country.  There needs to be increased land productivity in order to move from food crisis to food security.   Although Zimbabwe was once considered the ‘bread basket’ of Southern Africa, serious food shortages after the land reform program have challenged that position.  Amongst other agricultural policy issues, the Government must create a Land Bank that will give loans to farmers at concessionary rates in order to increase productivity.  Extension and training services need to be improved.  On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance is in the process of rationalizing the use of 99 year leases as collateral to allow farmers to borrow money.  More is needed to reform the agricultural sector in the country, even including timely disbursement of inputs and fertilizers.  Often these are made available late, and planting then starts late which means yields, and eventually harvests, are affected.

EMRC: You will lead your country’s delegation to the Agribusiness Forum 2011 that will take place in Johannesburg in October, organized jointly by UNDP and EMRC.  What is the aim of your presence there, and what message will you send to the international community?

MRT: The aim is to communicate to the international community the extent of the land and food crisis.   We need to communicate why the land issue happened and what can be done to bring the land back into productivity.  Zimbabwe needs support from the international community to rationalize the land issue and to deal with the question of compensation to the farmers who lost their farms.  Farmers need to be engaged on a separate platform in order to move forward on this question.  The platform will also be used to communicate the possibilities of investing in agro business in the country.  Agriculture is the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy, and as such it must be supported.

EMRC: Today and after years of turbulence, there is a power- sharing government in Zimbabwe, and the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter.  What future does your country deserve and what would you like its role to be for the economic development of the SADC region and beyond?

MRT: The people of Zimbabwe need hope.  There is need to move away from the current transition, i.e., we need to resolve the current political crisis, and move towards a more economic thrust to improve the livelihoods of people.  Zimbabwe is endowed with very able human resources as well as natural resources.  In terms of trade, Zimbabwe is the logistical hub of the SADC region and this position needs to be captured and maximized for economic growth which will impact positively for the people.