Mnangagwa’s SONA failed to address key economic issues’- NGO coalition

By Nyashadzashe Ndoro | Nehanda Politics |

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has noted that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) failed to handle a great deal of economic problems facing the people of Zimbabwe.

Making his State of the Nation address on the official opening of the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament, Mnangagwa said that the country’s economy was on rebound, with this year’s projections indicating over 7,8% economic growth.

But the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a joint NGO group, said Mnangagwa’s address failed to address issues of rampant corruption and economic crisis facing the country.

“It is unfortunate that instead of appreciating the fact that corruption and the plunder of national resources by political elites are responsible for the economic turmoil in Zimbabwe, the President took the Sona as an opportunity for political grandstanding,” read the statement.

“The President in his address said his government was buoyed by an upward growth trajectory of the economy yet events on the ground prove that the economic crisis in Zimbabwe, which has been worsened by corruption has relegated the majority of ordinary Zimbabweans into abject poverty at a time unemployment continues to rise.

“We are concerned that the President deliberately chose to ignore the fact that prices of basic commodities in Zimbabwe continue to soar while RTGS salaries for workers continue to be eroded by inflation.

“In September 2021 the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe announced that a low-income urban family of six requires about $41 235,93 to sustain their monetary needs per month. The money amounts to around US$490 per month.

The NGO said the effect of the announcement was that civil servants, “most of whom are earning below US$300 have been relegated into abject poverty. What is more worrying is the fact that the government has responded with brutality to genuine calls by trade unionists advocating for a living wage.”

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition urged Mnangagwa to address the plight of workers and tackle corruption. Nehanda Radio