Opposition Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) has proposed ways through which Zimbabwe can turnaround its economy when the world is grappling with coronavirus pandemic.
Below is a twitter thread by the party’s president, Linda Masarira.
As the world continues to focus much of its attention towards the current unrest due to Covid-19, Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) is busy trying to come up with solutions that can see Zimbabwe emerging as a victor.
We have to foster a culture of consuming local products & not imports, to save foreign currency & encourage innovation. Government has to create more enticing incentives for local innovation, production & problem solving while penalizing nonproductive imports.
The process of building innovation requires our citizens in other parts of the world to systematically gather & transfer information, industrial secrets, blueprints, technology, designs & trade secrets from leading institutions across the world, into a technology intelligence data center, to build the nation’s intelligence & innovation institutional memory for learning, emulation & reverse engineering.
This is how Israel & apartheid South Africa built their nuclear industry during the to surprise the world with nuclear capabilities in 1966 and 1979 respectively LEAD believes that if we are to survive & compete as a nation, we have to copy what the developed world did, not to listen to what they tell us to do implying that we must acquire knowledge, technology & innovation by any means we can & emulate
Government must consider legislating and introducing incentives accordingly, for example, awarding tenders based on rewarding those who invest a higher proportion of their wealth to buying machinery, production, innovation and problem-solving.
Zimbabwe should invest in capacitating & empowering patriotic citizens, who will have a lifetime commitment of reinvesting in the country, developing it technologically & defending it to ensure that it is the best at everything it does, like what Americans and Israelis do.
By implication, therefore, the country should only give strategic economic opportunity to patriots who have the understanding & commitment to the national vision & interests of Zimbabwe. In turn, those patriots have the obligation of raising & mentoring the next generation of patriotic nation-builders without trying to be successful alone.
A perception based on the lessons learnt from the generation of Mutumwa Mawere & Daniel Shumba among others, who benefited immensely from the country but have failed to give back to the nation during this time when Zimbabwe needs wealthy patriots to assist the nation. Worse still, some of them are effectively working with the enemy to undermine the country.
A patriot can not just be someone who makes money & then brings back taxes or investment that sucks wealth out of the country.
Real patriots have to bring back reinvestment, knowledge & technology that industrializes, transfers technology, creates jobs, mentors new entrepreneurs, solve our national problems by advancing industry, building capacity & competencies that leverage production, import substitution, job creation and defense capabilities of the republic.
As @LEADZim2023 we do hereby call upon all citizens such as Strive Masiyiwa to use their influence and capabilities to make Zimbabwe the leading technology hub in Africa.
This can be done through companies like Econet establishing research & development facilities in the country, to employ the best talent from across the world, to transfer skills and innovate IP in Zimbabwe.
People must start realizing that giving money to relatives for a funeral but none to start businesses in the family, is not patriotic return to the country.
However, it is of paramount importance to note that the solution lies with the government actively empowering the most patriotic people, who in times of need will be willing to lose everything to save the country.
People who will leave the country to take from other countries to bring back and invest just like what the Europeans do for Europe. Giving back to community and country is an integral part of the national building philosophy.
More: Linda Masarira