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IMF predications don’t mean jobs Print
Written by Steven Nyathi   
Wednesday, 14 October 2009 14:07
imf-logoBULAWAYO - Despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) having predicted an economic growth of 3,7 per cent in 2009 this will not immediately translate into jobs, a leading economist has said.
Bulawayo based economist, Dr Eric Bloch, said the minimal economic growth would mean that industry saved the few jobs that already exist. "There will be no new job opportunities but it means saving the few jobs that are already there. Most factories have been battling but this is a sign that they are likely to recover," he said. Zimbabwe has an unemployment rate of over 70 per cent and has in the past 10 years been hit by brain drain and the closure of businesses, leading to job loss. Last week the IMF made projections that the country's economy would grow by 3,7 per cent by the end of the year.
Dr Bloch said the predicted growth was the first sign of an economic turn around this year and the country needed to put a little more effort in to fully take advantage of this growth.
"We need to reconcile with the western community and improve dialogue by actually doing it and not by merely speaking about it," he said. Dr Bloch said the Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti, was in a catch-22 situation but must be decisive. He said the true recovery of the economy lay in land reform. Dr Bloch said there was need for accountability in the country's land reform if meaningful output was to be reaped. He said the country must show investors that their investments will be secure.
"With investments there will be massive growth but conflicting statements make investors invest in other countries like buying into South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment. It must not be a situation where investors put all then the country gets 51 per cent just like that. We must eliminate those grounds," he said. Dr Bloch said he believed Zimbabwe's economy would, within 10 years, be one of the five biggest economies in the continent. "We have potential in minerals and tourism. Near Lupane there is a luthane mine, there is so much opportunity. For the brain drain to end we must call back Zimbabweans but how can you call someone to power cuts, high rates than what they are paying where they are currently staying. We must develop skills to invite expatriates," he said.
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