Issues Zimbabweans are most worried about

Zimbabweans know what they want and are able to recognise patronising top down approaches in development issues that treat them as subjects and objects of policy and not shareholders and crafters of these issues.

This was said by Finance Minister Tendai Biti when he presented his 2012 budget. Biti summarised the issues that were uppermost in people’s minds as follows:

• Political discord and disunity;
• Power and energy crisis;
• Unemployment;
• Transparency over diamond revenue streams from mining at Chiadzwa;
• Easy access to basic services, including business licences, national registration documents and banking services;
• Education, health and other social service delivery;
• Lack of liquidity in the economy and the high cost of money;
• Labour market inflexibility, and wages and labour practices that are not connected to productivity;
• Ministries.’ and Government Departments.’ indebtedness to Local Authorities and other public institutions;
• Unproductive and uncontrolled Government expenditure;
• Reconstruction and rehabilitation of road infrastructure and completion of on-going projects;
• Guaranteeing clean water supply and improved sanitation services;
• Social protection and safety nets, including for people living with disability;
• Support for agriculture and household food security;
• Continued stability in the price level, including sustainable wage levels;
• Consistency in policy implementation.

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