The Sunday News
THOSE who drive or are familiar with motor vehicles must know about what suspension is. In general it is the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connect a vehicle to its wheels.
The suspension system contributes to proper handling of the car while on the road and in addition it also ensures that there is comfort for the occupants especially on rough roads.
A sound suspension system keeps tyres on the road and this minimises accidents.
In a nutshell, motorists have to constantly check that the suspension of a car is in a sound condition to ensure comfort and safety when on the road.
However, some drivers can discover that the suspension is no longer sound but still choose to continue driving.
In such cases they will be hoping that in spite of the problems, there won’t be any serious consequences.
Some just delay repairing the suspension resulting in the car eventually breaking down or in some cases end up in involved in serious accidents.
But unlike other mechanical faults which can just occur without prior warning to drivers, suspension problems usually build up.
In most cases these are problems that you feel from the time they develop until they even get worse.
As the suspension problems get worse you can also feel that the performance, especially the balance of the car is compromised.
Like a vehicle, our economy is also a system with various components which need to be in place for it to function properly.
Right now all the signs are there to show that the economic suspension is not holding properly and needs an urgent checkup so that serious corrective measures can be implemented for it to perform optimally.
Of course the problems are not that bad and we are still on the road but radical measures need to be implemented now so that we do not risk the problem of a breakdown.
Over the past few months, signs have started showing that some of the systems are not functioning properly and need to be checked.
Government which is the main driver has admitted that all is not looking rosy.
Paying of salaries has become a mammoth task for Government and this is one of the clearest signs of dwindling revenue.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya in his monetary policy early this month, emphasised that it was no longer sustainable for the country to even talk about salary adjustments.
His argument is that from Government to the private sector, production right now is too low to sustain any more salary increases.
The situation has been worsened by the growing value of the dollar against major currencies resulting in huge appetite for imports at the expense of local production.
Under normal circumstances, salaries must not gobble more than 30 percent of total revenue. However the sad situation is that even from Government levels salaries are taking around 70 percent of revenue.
This has resulted in an unsustainable situation where most of the money collected is used for salaries while nothing goes to capital expenditure.
What has worsened the situation is that even though Government and the private sector can impose a salary freeze, it is very difficult to cut them as workers somehow also feel that it is too little. The only solution is to increase production and encourage domestic spending.
It is better for civil servants because Government will not close but workers in the private sector have started feeling the pinch.
Parastatals which at times like this must be able to help hold the economy seem to be the worst affected.
The Grain Marketing Board which is supposed to be a key player in promoting agriculture in the country is way off its radar.
It owes farmers more than $50 million for produce delivered last year. Its workers have not been paid for more than six months. How are we supposed to convince farmers to sell their grain to GMB this season when it is clear it’s a dying horse.
And how can such an institution play a role in uplifting farming, traditionally the backbone of the economy.
In fact how do we justify the continued existence of such a company which is on its knees? The GMB problems just mirror what is happening in most of the parastatals.
In some parastatals capacity has fallen way below 10 percent. It is not all about money, I think, but it is also about willingness and capabilities of those who are heading these companies.
We can blame all sorts of problems but in some cases problems have been allowed to just grow while we ignore.
How do we, for example, protect Cold Storage Company when private abattoirs today are booming? Why is the parastatal not slaughtering the cattle which are being slaughtered by private abattoirs?
CSC is and was not about slaughtering cattle for export markets only but for domestic market. The beef industry is booming locally and why protect officials at the company some who have been there for more than 20 years while nothing is happening.
These are some of the suspension components which need to be removed and replaced or else we will find ourselves in ditches which we will not be able to come out of.
The situation is telling in the private sector too. Some companies have been folding leaving workers with nothing.
Few are retrenching and giving the workers packages. Most companies are living to survive another day.
They have abandoned capital projects and are just doing enough to keep their heads above water.
At family level many are struggling. Even those in small businesses are recording reduced sales making it a struggle to provide for their families.
But like in a car, this is only a suspension problem. Most of the other parts are still working properly. The country has a number of areas that are functional and just need the suspension to be in the right position for them to generate maximum efficiency.
There is a need to correct some of the ills that are affecting the smooth performance of the economy so that once again we can enjoy a comfortable ride back to economic prosperity.
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