Zimbabwe’s Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube recently released the 2021 Budget Strategy Paper that basically outlines the fiscal strategy to guide wider consultations on the upcoming 2021 National Budget.
The Minister said the budget is premised at advancing economic growth underpinned by production to stimulate job creation and address other ills bedevilling the country.
Daily News Editorial, however, observes that it is ironical in the eyes of the ordinary man that the continued talk about economic growth is not backed by concrete deliverables. Reads the editorial in part:
For the ordinary man, economic growth without jobs and food on the table is meaningless. It is, therefore, time for the government to have a relook at its policies in order to ensure the country registers “inclusive” growth that benefits everybody.
With unemployment estimated at over 90 percent there is, therefore, need for Ncube in his 2021 National Budget to come up with interventions that cushion the vulnerable members of our society before the situation deteriorates futher.
The Finance Minister has on several occasions claimed that the country had registered a surplus yet the government is struggling to meet its domestic and foreign financial obligations.
The government has so far been unable to fulfil its pre-election promises which include the revival of the economy and creation of jobs and has cited sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic as major hindrances.
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