By Tafara Chikumira
ZIMBABWE has lost over US$42 billion in potential revenue as a result of the illegal sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies some 20 years ago.
Presenting a lecture on the state of the economy to youths at Mkoba Teacher’s College in Gweru this Saturday, Finance and Economic development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube said Zimbabweans need to understand the devastating effects of sanctions and become innovative to address the challenges facing the nation.
“The over US$42 billion which we have lost since 2001 is almost double our economy which stands at US$25 billion, that’s quite a huge margin and people need to realise the effects of such a loss. Almost US$4,5 billion of that money was intended for donor support and US$18 billion was for financial support. Banks lost over 100 corresponding resources. We experienced massive loss of jobs and we were unable to create jobs easily. We have lost a lot as a country including foreign direct investment,” said the Finance and Economic Development Minister.
He added that government has come up with various sanctions busting mechanisms for the benefit of the people.
“Like any nation under attack, we had to come up with something so that we stand on our own. We had to come up with a firm foundation for us to begin to realise the fruits of our efforts.
“The government had to introduce the Transitional Stabilisation Programme which became the foundation of turning around the economic fortunes of the country. This had to be followed by the NDS1.
“We also introduced the Devolution concept which is meant to ensure that every region has to get support from their own resources. Our goal is to ensure that employment is improved to 80 percent while poverty has to be reduced by 25percent,” explained the Finance Minister.
The illegal sanctions imposed on the country have seen Zimbabwe failing to access lines of credit and support from international monetary institutions where the country is a member.
The second republic has however come up with robust measures contained in Vision 2030, envisaged to transform the country into an upper middle income society. The national blue print has seen government completing numerous developmental projects across the country.