(Last Updated on August 31, 2015 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s declaration that agriculture will spearhead the country’s economic revival is a fallacy, MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai has said.
In response to the State of The Nation Address delivered by Mugabe on Tuesday, Tsvangirai told journalists in Bulawayo Wednesday that Mugabe was delusional.
Mugabe said government had come up with a 10-point plan to revitalise the economy and create employment through agriculture and value addition and beneficiation.
I understand from the president’s state of the nation address that agriculture will spearhead economic growth, this is a fallacy,” said Tsvangirai.
Firstly, if you look at the cotton price today, 30 cents, no one is going to plant any cotton.
“The small scale cotton growers have suffered a heavy loss, from $1.50 to 30 cents a kg because the gunners are now a cartel which has agreed to cut cotton prices to 30 cents.
“If you go to tobacco, it is the same, people used to get $2; now the price has gone down. Maize, they are only prepared to pay $150, when they are supposed to pay $350 a tonne.
The small scale farmers are not going to grow maize. Yet we hear that agriculture is going to spearhead the growth of this economy, said Tsvangirai.
The former PM also scoffed at Mugabe’s assertion that mineral beneficiation and value addition will spur the country’s economy.
The other fallacy is that we are going to have import substitution. How do you have import substitution when the industries are closing? Who is going to have beneficiation when the industries are closing?
All I can say is that the president failed the people of Zimbabwe by failing to tackle the main issues that this country is facing, said Tsvangirai.
The MDC-T leader urged Mugabe to step down and call for early elections.
When a government fails, to the extent that Zanu PF has failed, the only honourable thing for that government is to step down and call for elections.
see no reason why we should continue with this policy vacuum; no strategy, no policy, no thrust to rescue the economy of this country, if there is an economy to talk about he said.
Tsvangirai said, as a party, the MDC-T was ready to offer an alternative through their policies and have the solution to the country’s economic woes.
He however, said they will not enter another unity government to rescue the country’s economy which is on a free-fall.