ZIMBABWE’S President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa has been urged to build on the gains realised during his first term in office.
Mnangagwa was recently re-elected for his second and final five-year term, after garnering 52,6 percent of the total votes cast, according to the results announced by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Priscilla Chigumba late Saturday.
With the President-elect emphasising “increased production and productivity across all sectors” soon after being declared the winner, several people who spoke to this paper during a snap interview yesterday called for interventions to uplift the lives of ordinary people.
Simon Gundani, who runs a budding construction company, said while promoting or incentivising foreign direct investment was a noble idea, the government must also come up with measures that also promote local investment.
“We obviously need foreign investors to help us exploit abundant natural resources that this country is endowed with but the truth of the matter is a country can only develop if it has both foreign investment and local investment. The incoming government must therefore come up with incentives and measures that promote small businesses and also stimulate new local businesses,” said Gundani.
For Sam Ncube, a civil servant, one of the priorities for the incoming government should be to lessen the workers’ tax burden.
“Sustainable tax laws and the provision of a living wage should be a priority. The tax brackets recently gazetted by the government don’t go far enough. I don’t think it is fair for the government to collect income tax from someone earning an equivalent of $50 per month. It is unfair for someone earning one million Zimbabwean dollars per month to fork out 40% in tax before any other deductions such as medical aid, funeral cover and rentals,” Ncube told the Daily News.
On her part, Ndaanjeyi Musutu, who runs a couple of taxis, says the selling of fuel in hard currency when most people are paid in Zimbabwean dollars should be discontinued.
“Many people are paid in Zimbabwean dollars but not even a single drop of fuel is available in local currency. This is very puzzling particularly when the government has repeatedly expressed its determination to promote the wider use of local currency,” said Musutu.
A teacher with a local private school — Salome Gweme — wants to see the government prioritising the construction and repair of roads that ordinary people use. “Roads in urban areas are so bad that the suspension of my car has to be fixed almost once a month.
Roads in most rural areas used by the majority are almost impassable. The government must therefore invest in the roads that most people use,” she said. Pre-school teacher Hazel Gondo wants the government to ensure that the majority of Zimbabweans have access to basic medical care.
“Currently only government hospitals are accepting medical aid paid for in Zimbabwean dollars, a scenario that leaves the majority of the population without medical care.
The majority wants to be able to take their loved ones to the hospital when they are sick knowing they will get proper medical attention not just a bed. The majority also want a good education for their children and food on the table every day,” said Gondo