Opposition FreeZim Congress leader Joseph Makamba Busha has criticised President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) accusing him of presenting an economic outlook detached from the realities faced by ordinary citizens.
Mnangagwa delivered the address during the opening of the Third Session of the Tenth Parliament this week saying the economy was on a strong recovery path with growth projected at more than 6.6% this year.
But speaking at a press briefing in Harare on Thursday, Busha dismissed the growth claims saying they do not reflect conditions on the ground.
“President Mnangagwa claimed that the country recorded 6.6% growth rate, but a jobless growth rate is not growth at all because the ordinary citizens have to feel it,” he said.
Busha pointed to the continued migration of Zimbabweans to neighbouring South Africa as evidence of economic hardship arguing that many young people and graduates were seeking work outside the country.
“If the economy is performing, then how come the majority of Zimbabweans are still flocking to South Africa to buy goods and look for jobs? You can’t talk about economic growth in a country where there isn’t a single company employing 10 000 people,” he said.
He suggested that the President may be receiving misleading information from those around him.
“The biggest challenge is that we have people in government, and I hope the President is not being misled or lied to because there is no real growth rate in Zimbabwe’s economy,” Busha added.
