Despite the major shifts in climatic conditions, agriculture remains the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy with the sector being mostly rain-fed. The majority of the rural populace in the country derive their livelihoods from agriculture and other related rural economic activities. It is against this background that the government introduced initiatives including the Command Agriculture Scheme of 2016, which is a government programme designed to promote food security through domestic agricultural production. Nevertheless, the initiative has been received with mixed feelings by different sectors of the Zimbabwean community.

In pursuit of Vision 2030, the government embraced the neo-liberal economic ideology underpinned by austerity measures which have since come into effect through the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), the 2019 National Budget and the Monetary Policy Statement. The TSP is driven by liberalisation strategies aimed at economic growth rather than sustainable development and this has serious implications on agriculture. It is against this background that the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) convened the National Policy Dialogue Meeting on the Agricultural Policy Direction under the Economy in Transition Series on 25 April 2019 to advocate for pro-poor agricultural policies through dialogue between policy makers and rural women smallholder farmers. Amongst the policy makers were representatives from the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement; Budget, Finance and Economic Development; Local Government, Urban and Rural Development; and Gender and Development; Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development; Grain Marketing Board; Agricultural Marketing Authority and Agricultural Technical Extension Officers. The meeting came at the most relevant time when women smallholder farmers need to know the future of the agriculture sector so that they are well positioned to be able to stand and defend their livelihoods amid the promotion of private players in the agricultural sector.

The Agreed Action Plan
The rural women smallholder farmers and the policy makers agreed on the following;

• The rural smallholder farmers to petition the Parliament of Zimbabwe on the following:

• The displacement of Checheche rural smallholder farmers by Chipinge Rural District Council to pave way for the development of Checheche Growth Point;
• The displacement of rural smallholder farmers in Chisumbanje by Green Fuel;
• The displacement of rural smallholder farmers in Chemagora, Gokwe, by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement; and
• The urbanisation of rural farming communities that have reduced arable land affecting their livelihoods.
  • Creating a platform for farmers and miners interface to resolve the prevalent farmer-miner conflict which has resulted in preventable deaths.

Introduction

Zimbabwean citizens celebrated the 2019 National Budget Statement which reviewed the tax free threshold from US$300 to US$350 in order to cushion low taxpayers against rising prices of basic goods. The gains were however short-lived when the government announced the Monetary Policy which officially devalued the RTGS dollar through a floating exchange rate between the RTGS dollar and the United States dollar. The government did not however harmonise the fiscal and monetary policies in order to address the market distortions that came with the monetary policy considering that the 2019 National Budget had been presented at a time when the USD and Bond Notes were at parity. The fact that the devaluation of the RTGS dollar was aimed at addressing the exchange rate challenges that arose from the black market rates and multi-tier pricing, its net effect on the economy is devastating to both economic agents and consumers, people with fixed incomes and essentially all businesses that rely on imports.

Implications of Devaluation to Ordinary Citizens

Zimbabwe being a net importer of fuel, food and raw materials, all these import items became more expensive. Zimbabweans are caught in between a rock and hard surface as they entirely rely on imports, implying an increase in cost push inflation. It is very unfortunate that the final consumer becomes the greatest loser in this economic matrix. With worsening macroeconomic performance, the rise in inflation is not matched by a corresponding increase in aggregate demand.

It is very unfortunate that devaluation was not matched by an increase in real wages and salaries, worse still; there was no deliberate decision to cushion workers against devaluation and the corresponding rise in inflation. People’s disposable incomes were eroded excessively by the failure to respectively review the minimum tax threshold. Using the RBZ bank rate of US$/RTGS at US$1: RTGS 3.2 as of 25 April 2019, monthly incomes of US$110 or the RTGs equivalent are now being subjected to taxation. This defeats the purpose of reviewing the free tax threshold from US$300 to US$350 in the 2019 fiscal policy. This is incomparable to the monthly South Africa minimum tax threshold of US$450. Fundamentally, the discord between the monetary and fiscal policies signifies policy inconsistency and incoherency whose implications on the ordinary citizens undermine the very essence of having a government that saves the interest of its citizens.

Recommendations

The pain associated with the “Austerity for Prosperity” seems to be excessively unbearable beyond what the Minister of Finance and Economic Development envisaged. If no relief is sought immediately, the pain will persist into the medium and long term putting, the country in a worse off position. In this regard, ZIMCODD recommends the following:

• The government should expeditiously review the minimum tax threshold in line with the monetary developments brought by the monetary policy of 2019. Basically, the initial RTGS tax free threshold should be set by multiplying the US$ amount by the existing exchange rate.  The policy review should be issued through a government gazette which provides for tax refunds to individuals whose incomes were taxed from the time the monetary policy took effect.
• Considering that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development presides over both the monetary and fiscal policies, an Act of Parliament should be enacted to make it mandatory the synchronisation of monetary and fiscal policies to safeguard the interests of Zimbabweans and the economy. This will put an end to the prevailing macroeconomic distortions fuelled by the policy inconsistencies and incoherency.

Driven by the principle of inclusivity and the intricate value of citizenry voice in advancing the legislative and institutional reforms for public finance management in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD)organised a Public Finance Management (PFM) Reform Indaba in Bulawayo on the 12th of April 2019, where participants voiced their concerns and shared recommendations towards the promotion of accountability and transparency in PFM. The gist of the Indaba was on the review of the Public Finance Management Act and its alignment with the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Citizenry voice has been missing in the country’s legislative processes, the reason why ZIMCODD is undertaking PFM Reform Indabas to ensure that citizens’ voice is incorporated in the alignment of the PFM Act to the Constitution.Of critical importance to note is the fact that citizens are the major contributors of public funds as such their voice and concerns are critical in the management of the public purse.
Issues raised and recommendations:
• Abuse and mismanagement of public funds by public officials has been the order of the day in Zimbabwe, as such participants called for deterrent and stringent measures to be incorporated in the PFM Act against the abuse and mismanagement of public resources.
• Citizens are in most cases treated as passive recipients of top-down legal processes. The PFM Act should place emphasis on consultations with citizens to ensure that the national budget and PFM in general speak to the needs and will of the people they serve.
• The rights of citizens under the 2013 Constitution are abrogated because of lack of fiscal space and bloated Civil Service Wage Bill that has always been on the largest chunk of the national budget yet it supplies nothing in terms of health and education. Whilst the health and education sectors freeze posts, the army continues to recruit, the PFM Act should address that.
• PFM Act should embrace and legislate the constitutional principle of ensuring that national resources are expended efficiently, economically and prudently.
• The PFM Act must compel the government together with provincial and local tiers of the government to disclose accurate revenue and expenditure statistics for public consumption.
• The PFM Act should provide for mechanisms to monitor the collection, management and utilisation of various taxes.

Some of the measures to strengthen the Public Finance Management system in Zimbabwe:
• Budgetary processes should be strictly carried out within the budget calendar period and budget overruns should be contained.There is need for a sectoral approach to the formulation and monitoring of the budget and consistency in budget execution is equally important.
• The development of a comprehensive reform and rationalisation programme for reforms in state enterprises is critical.
• There is need for migration to accrual accounting in Zimbabwe’s PFM system.

As the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) convened a Public Finance Management (PFM) Reform Indaba in Harare on the 16^th of April 2019, citizens and stakeholders in Harare expressed dissatisfaction with how public funds are managed in the country, demanding deterrent measures against corrupt public officials in the quest for accountability and transparency in PFM. The PFM Indaba, which was the last leg for the coalition’s first quarter PFM Reform Indabas, provided participants with an opportunity to review and interrogate PFM system in Zimbabwe with special focus on the alignment of the Public Finance Management Act to the Constitution.

Key Demands and Recommendations

• The national Constitution should be translated into all indigenous languages for it to appeal to diverse citizens. This is important in ensuring that citizens to participate national budget processes from an informed position.
• The whipping system in Parliament of Zimbabwe is undermining the institution’s role in PFM and should therefore be revoked to allow for Members of Parliament to fully represent the interests of the electorate not just their political parties.
• People living with disabilities are not well recognised in society to the extent that crucial meetings such as budget consultations are conducted in venues which are not accessible to people with disability, thereby excluding them from participation. Participants at the PFM Indaba called upon Parliament and the relevant authorities to ensure that Bills are available in format that is palatable to the deaf and blind to ensure their participation.
• Transparency, accountability and political will are critical in strengthening the management of public finances and should be embodied in the Public Finance Management Act as provided for in the Constitution, Section 298.
• Revenue raised nationally must be shared equitably between the central government and provincial and local tiers of the government.
• Recommendations from the Auditor General (AG)’s office are never implemented despite their accuracy. The AG should therefore report directly to Parliament.

Zimbabwe is not poor in resources but suffers from poor resource management…Corruption undermines the whole PFM System in Zimbabwe…Bad governance practices rocks Zimbabwe parastatals…Lack of rule of law undermines effective PFM system in Zimbabwe. These are some of the issues voiced by some residents from Gweru, Zimbabwe during a Public Finance Management Reform Indaba convened by the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) on the 11^th of April 2019. Nevertheless any poll on determining the most discussed issue during the Indaba, would easily pick corruption as the ultimate issues because most of the issues raised in relation to the alignment of the Public Finance Management Act to the Constitution referred back, either implicitly or explicitly to how the Act should speak to the supreme law in addressing corruption in PFM. Participants vehemently indicated that corruption has now become a “cancer that calls for divine surgery” in Zimbabwe such that stringent measures and actions should be taken to uproot this enemy of progress.

Concerns and Recommendations from the PFM Reform Indaba

• Corruption is rampant in Zimbabwe’s PFM and the successive Auditor General’s reports since 2015, highlights continuous violation of procurement procedures in government departments, local authorities and state owned enterprises. In most cases, service providers are paid for goods and/or services that are never delivered by suppliers in violation of section 315 (2) of the constitution which require all state contraction process to ensure transparency, honesty, cost effectiveness and competitiveness. There is therefore need for deterrent and stringent measures (penalties and fines) against corruption and primitive accumulation in order to safeguard public resources. More so, Section 81 of the PFM Act should be amended to incorporate provisions on audit of all provincial and metropolitan councils.
• Public Finance Management in Zimbabwe is characterised by lack of rule of law where all the cases of corruption are recorded but no action is taken against the perpetrators. Section 308 of the constitution should be effected to provide for speedy detection of breaches on safeguarding public funds and property and when such provisions are violated ensure disciplinary procedures including punishment and recovery of local asserts. There is need for alignment to the constitution on one hand and strict implementation of the law on the other.
• In Zimbabwe, there are no well spelt consequences for non-compliance to PFM provisions by responsible authorities, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development included. The PFM Act should therefore provide for deterrent measures and actions to be taken against non-compliance.
• Zimbabwe has a weak auditing system that promotes bad governance where internal auditors report to the management in the same institutions which compromise the audit results. The PFM Act should strengthen and remodel the internal auditing system supported by accountability system. Internal auditors should not report to the authorities of the entities they are auditing.
• The PFMA must be explicit that financial reports adhere to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) reporting framework.  Budget structure should also take the format set out by International Public Sector Accounting Standards, for ease of integration with periodical reporting
• There is a tendency by the government of notifying instead of consulting parliament and citizens on PFM gestures. As a result, laws pass through Parliament instead of them being passed by Parliament. This is due to excessive powers given to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development by section 7 of the PFM Act. Instead the Institution of Parliament should be strengthened to exercise their power to oversee State revenues and expenditures as provided for in section 299 of the Constitution.
• There is a disastrous existence of weak governance institutions and strong individuals and those individuals are not held accountable for abuse and mismanagement of public resources. Institutions responsible for PFM should be strengthened and the executive must be stripped off of unnecessary powers that translate to public finance mismanagement and abuse and perpetrators of commercial crimes should be brought to book.
• Information regarding public finance management should not be sacred but open to the citizens to pave way for accountability.
• Bad corporate governance has been rampant in parastatals and this has been an avenue for misappropriation and looting. Parastatal reforms are therefore long overdue to curb mismanagement of finance in local authorities.
• There should be clear social accountability mechanisms that ensure active citizenry towards the realisation of constitutional provisions in public resources management. The pre-budget consultation process should therefore be given ample time for citizens to meaningfully participate.
• Public borrowing must be carried out in a transparent manner and in the interest of Zimbabweans and national development.
• The PFM Act should clearly explain national development, useful and necessary expenses as well as fruitless and unnecessary expenditure in order for the government to be held accountable.

On Thursday 28 March 2019, the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development met with different stakeholders from government departments, donor community, academia, parliament, civil society organisations, economists and social scientists from various sectors at the Zimbabwe High Level Debt Conference and launched a debt strategy resolution paper entitled ‘Sustainable and Inclusive Debt Management Framework for Zimbabwe (SIDMaF). The was paper compiled following extensive research and wide consultations, SIDMaF proffers a hybrid model which calls for combined efforts among stakeholders towards addressing Zimbabwe’s debt overhang. SIDMaF is coming in to augment government efforts towards resolving the debt crises whose implications on the economy are appalling.

Deliberations at the High Level Debt Conference unequivocally resolved that:

• To avoid further deterioration of the economy, the country should wean itself from the debt trap through a sustainable and inclusive debt strategy that harnesses efforts and aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe guided by a comprehensive debt audit;
• Addressing the debt question with human rights in mind requires rethinking of Zimbabwe’s development model currently based on the Washington Consensuseconomic model which perpetuates primitive accumulation of wealth by the elites;
• Strengthening the role of institutions responsible for loan contraction processes is at the centre of a sustainable debt resolution strategy;
• Promoting and legislating ethical standards in all areas of public financial management is vital in addressing the macroeconomic deficiencies bedeviling the country.
• Zimbabwe should take a lead at the global level in addressing the unjust global financial rules creating unsustainable debt burdens;
• For debt relief to benefit the poor, the government needs to channel the funds towards investment in infrastructure, public goods and capital projects to stimulate economic growth;
• The government must also undertake economic reforms to provide strong impetus to efforts geared at accelerating accumulation of capital, productivity and economic growth, build confidence and enhance the country’s ability to meet future external debt obligations;
• Public debt contraction has to be approved by Parliament as mandated by the citizens and as enshrined in the national Constitution.

As the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development continues to steer its wheel towards sustainable public debt management in Zimbabwe, the coalition roped in members of the fourth estate in the struggle given that media reporting on debt contraction and analysis is vital in raising informed voice and demand for accountability among the citizenry. Towards the cause, ZIMCODD conducted media training on debt discourse on Thursday 21 March 2019 where journalists were challenged to effectively discharge their watchdog role in ensuring that the government abides by the Constitutional provisions in as far as public finance management is concerned.

The training comes at the backdrop of the realisation that both private and public media journalists are not conversant with public debt issues bedeviling the country and as a result they in a position to inform citizens on public debt contraction processes as well as calling for transparency and accountability in the sector. Participants were keen to understand the impact of public debt on the economy, the role of media in public finance management and best ways to bridge the gap between civil society organisations and the fourth estate. At the end of the meeting, media practitioners demonstrated an appreciation of public debt issues in Zimbabwe as they suggested that civil society organisations and journalists should collaborate towards the realisation of transparency and accountability in public finance management and economic governance in general. Of interest is the fact that one journalist published an article online just after the end of the training.

The Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) conducted an awareness raising meeting in Gokwe with smallholder farmers who are under the Agriculture Marketing Authority (Command Agriculture Scheme (CAS) for Domestic Crop, Livestock and Fisheries Production). The meeting brought together 77 women smallholder farmers, livelihood groups, lead farmers, AGRITEX officers, community based mobilisers, representatives from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as well as traditional leaders.
The awareness raising meeting comes at a time when the government indicated its intentions to privatise the agricultural sector, including the CAS. Zimbabwe is experiencing an El Nino induced drought due to climate change which has seen CAS and household livelihoods being threatened. At the meeting, ZIMCODD sought to solicit views of smallholder farmers on the future of CAS in the context of a neoliberal driven economy. The meeting was also an opportunity for ZIMCODD to fully understand how CAS beneficiaries from different parts of Gokwe are coping with various challenges including the late disbursement of inputs.

ZIMCODD had an opportunity to demystify and debunk the CAS contract to women smallholder farmers. Surprisingly, the majority of participants did not understand the dictates of the CAS contract. Participants emphasised the need for the government to conduct extensive public awareness on its programmes so that beneficiaries know what is expected of them. ZIMCODD therefore explained the CAS contract to the farmers in a vernacular language, translating and interpreting some of the provisions of Statutory Instrument 79 of 2017 that governs command agriculture.
Gokwe smallholder farmers reiterated that command agriculture must continue to be funded by the state. However, ZIMCODD strongly feels that in as far as command agriculture and government subsidy in the agriculture sector is good, there should be equitable distribution of inputs between male and female small holder farmers. Furthermore, the inputs should not be distributed in a partisan manner but based on each individual farmer’s eligibility. ZIMCODD also calls for a social audit of the Command Agriculture Scheme and the complementing scheme, Presidential Inputs Scheme, as their wholesome continuation may lead to the accumulation of domestic debt.
Unlike in other parts of Zimbabwe, smallholder farmers in Gokwe are jubilant about the rains that did not disappoint the first maize crop, and they expect better yields. However they also bemoaned climate change and erratic rainfall patterns. The smallholder farmers lamented the government gazetted RTGS$390 per tonne that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is buying maize at. Gokwe smallholder farmers are therefore encouraging the government to revise the price and make it consistent with the prevailing parallel market exchange rate to avert losses that can compromise future production of the maize crop.
However, the majority of participants expressed dismay over the fact that only 24 smallholder farmers in Gokwe benefitted from command livestock when a lot of farmers are interested in the scheme. Nevertheless, an Agritex officer explained that Gokwe was prioritised as a grain producing area hence most farmers got more support in command crop production as compared to command livestock. The Agritex officer highlighted that natural farming regions 5 and 6 were prioritised for command livestock because they are more conducive for livestock production.
Just like in the case of Checheche and Domboshava, Gokwe small holder farmers bemoaned the regressive 2% tax imposed by government. The farmers also cried foul over the equal taxation on electronic payments to government which was effected on them after harvesting the contract produce and during the purchasing of goods and services for their farming activities. “So we are paying the government tax two times” one farmer angrily remarked. The 2% tax is therefore counter-productive, regressive and not pro poor. The rich and elites must be taxed more than the vulnerable groups and this will help provide more revenue for schemes such as command agriculture.
More needs to be done in terms of early disbursements of farming inputs and implements. Participants argued that the government cannot expect beneficiaries of CAS to meet the command produce stated in the contract when it it’s failing to disburse adequate inputs on time. The majority of smallholder farmers had this question to ask -When will the government invest in robust irrigation infrastructure and systems to curb the risks posed by climate change to the success of the scheme as well as the sustainability of livelihoods?
It would be an indictment on the fast track land reform programme and the liberation struggle in its entirety if the government fails to continue with state led policies that support smallholder farmers throughout the country. The neoliberalisation and privatisation of the economy is not sustainable. It destroyed livelihoods during the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) era. Ordinary citizens are already feeling the serious effects of austerity as the cost of living continues to rise on a daily basis thereby worsening the standards of living.