By Paul Nyathi|Former minister of Higher and tertiary education, Professor Jonathan Moyo has offered a piece of advice to the newly appointed Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube warning him to stop talking too much as the astute ZANU PF politicians will turn against him soon.
The former ZANU PF heavyweight warned Ncube against announcing his plans before consulting the Zanu PF politburo and cabinet who eventually have the final say in how the country will be run.
Moyo added that the portfolio Ncube holds requires a politician and not a technocrat as he will not be able to stand and defend his decisions in platforms which he will not be part of.
Former Industry Minister Nkosana Moyo who was once regarded as the biggest brains the country needed to turn around the economy unceremoniously quit his ministerial position under former President Robert Mugabe after serving a very short time because the ruling party structures resisted his textbook policies that were affecting their political aspirations.
1/5 Since @MthuliNcube is finance minister as an outsider, it may please him to note these key tidbits about ZanuPF & its govt: First, don’t announce any major initiative, like phasing out bondnotes, before it’s been approved by the president, politburo & cabinet in that order.
2/5 Just like the sun will rise tomorrow, and given murphy’s law, rest assured that your ZanuPF detractors will use Barbican Bank, AfDB & dual citizenship residue against you. The question is not whether they will, but when & how they will do it. You are forewarned; be forearmed.
3/5 A minister of finance is not a technocrat but a politician. You will need political clout that comes from being a ZanuPF member, an MP and, crucially, a central committee & politburo member. If you are not these things, it’s a disaster & if you are, your technocratic CV dies!
4/5 You must remember that while the late Morgan Tsvangirai, and before him the late VP Joseph Msika, saw you as a prospective RBZ Governor given your banking history, you are minister of finance in charge of fiscal & not monetary policy. Stick to your job & let others do theirs!
5/5 The Ministry of Finance does not have the high-end skills necessary for an economic ministry in a country with Zimbabwe’s intractable socioeconomic problems; compounded by political malaise. There’s no craft-competence from the permanent secretary, down to the shop floor!