In his previous role as Industry Minister, Samuel Mumbengegwi had threatened businesses, warning he had them “under surveillance” for being “in cahoots” with the opposition.
He had also told a meeting of local industry and international financiers that Zimbabwe did not need their money. “We are doing well without them”, he said.
Just the sort of Finance Minister Mugabe wanted. And so in 2007, Mumbengegwi got the job. He was perhaps the worst of Mugabe’s picks for the role, stumbling around economic terms in budget speeches, butchering the quadrillions in the inflation data, and generally providing free comic relief to the opposition benches.
What Chinamasa has suffered is not isolated. Many inside government know that one does not survive long if they keep pestering the leadership with inconvenient truths.
Take comfort, poor old Patrick. You are not alone. You are just one in a long list of Finance Ministers that have fallen foul of a culture that rewards lies over truth, and appeasement over logic.
There is a reason why Zimbabwean government Ministers refuse to tell the truth on the economy, preferring instead to live in denial – it is just how their boss wants them.
By thwarting Chinamasa’s austerity measures, Mugabe and his cabinet invite inevitable questions over their commitment to reforms underpinning the ongoing re-engagement process with international finance institutions.
Chinamasa has been doggedly pursuing this re-engagement since his appointment in 2013, but after having been cut off at the knees, it’s hard to see the process as anything other than imperilled.-The Source
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