THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has implored Finance Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube to consult all stakeholders before crafting policies to avoid backlashes.
Since taking over the Treasury in 2018, Ncube’s key announcements have been followed by widespread outcries often forcing other key arms of the government to intervene and expedite amendments.
Even despite the Treasury boss being at the forefront of glorifying social dialogue for economic growth and proceeding to grace the occasion which established a legislated Tripartite Negotiation Forum (TNF) back in 2019, insiders within the platform allege that they have often been sidelined in the key policy consultations over the years.
Speaking to delegates during the TNF Strategic Planning Retreat currently underway in the resort town of Victoria Falls, ZCTU president Florence Taruvinga called the Treasury boss to order.
“I challenge the Minister of Finance to consult workers when coming up with policy instead of the current situation where the country is being run by inconsistent and contradictory Statutory Instruments,” she said.
Taruvinga called for co-opting the TNF Founding principles like the Kadoma Declaration, Prices and Incomes Stabilisation Protocol, the Protocol on Mobilisation, Pricing and Management of Foreign Currency and the TNF Act.
“All these documents and others not mentioned should be linked to our key national developmental policy frameworks such as the National Development Strategy (NDS1) and other strategies.
“As such, we hope that the mid-term review of NDS1 will be discussed under the auspices of the TNF as a basis for fine-tuning its implementation for the remainder of its tenure up to the end of 2025,” she said.
The ZCTU leader said Social Dialogue for Nation Building must resonate with current collective efforts to have Zimbabwe working for Zimbabweans, as well as addressing the age-long paradox of a resource-rich country operating way below its potential.
“It is the time for us to rediscover our humanity, our Ubuntu, that our lives are deeply bound up with the lives of others,” she added.
