OPPOSITION Zimbabwe Coalition for Peace and Development (ZCPD) leader Trust Chikohora has said the new Cabinet sworn in early this week faces an uphill task in addressing the economic challenges bedevilling the country.
“We wait to see the new policies that will come out of the new Cabinet. We also wait to see how progressive those policies will be and whether the new Cabinet will be able to tackle the myriad of challenges facing the Zimbabwe economy and whether the lives of people will be improved by this new Cabinet,” Chikohora said in an interview yesterday.
The Gweru-based opposition party leader added that the new Cabinet should focus on stabilising the economy by dealing decisively with hyperinflation.
“The Cabinet has to make sure the economy is stabilised on a sustainable basis, make sure the currency and prices on the market are stabilised and that inflation is reined in to single digit levels. They have to make sure that both foreign direct investment and local investment are realised in the country if Vision 2030 of being an upper-middle income economy is to be achieved,” he added.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday announced a 26-member Cabinet that also included his loyalists and relatives.
Chikohora said having Mnangagwa’s relatives in government was “unusual”.
“We have seen Mnangagwa’s son David Mnangagwa being appointed Finance deputy minister, while his nephew Tongai Mnangagwa is the Tourism deputy minister. We also have the husband and wife team — the Mutsvangwas [Christopher and Monica as War Veterans and Women Affairs ministers, respectively] — which is also unusual and would ordinarily not happen if you want to apply best practices in terms of good governance,” he said.
Mnangagwa said his new Cabinet would continue with the developmental projects started by the previous government.
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