The role of patriotic currency

As I continue to theorise about patriotic entrepreneurship unveiling its key drivers, I am pleased to report that I have just identified yet another significant driver, which I had obliviously overlooked. This driver is none other than the domestic currency. Surely, how can any nation foster patriotic entrepreneurship without its own currency, that is, a patriotic currency?

The ongoing unjustified market failure characterised in the form of wanton skyrocketing of prices and the free falling of our Zimbabwe dollar against the US dollar became the Eureka moment, that helped me to identify this crucial driver.

So instead of only ten we now have eleven drivers for patriotic entrepreneurship and these are: Patriotic Business Motivation, Patriotic Production, Patriotic People Management, Patriotic Pricing, Patriotic Marketing, Patriotic Market Behaviour, Patriotic Currency, Patriotic Entrepreneurship Development, Patriotic Knowledge Creation, Patriotic National Narrative and Stakeholder Management. I have since explained the first six drivers and in this article, I shall explain the role of patriotic currency.

Business schools teach us in economics about what a currency is and what are its functions as money. To illustrate this, we are taught that currency/money serves as a medium of exchange, measure of value, store of value, transfer of value, a basis of credit, a unit of account, and a standard of postponed/differed payment. We are further taught that money has these major characteristics: portability, divisibility, durability, limited supply, uniformity, and acceptability.

True all this stuff about currency/money is spot on! But, because our business schools world-wide, have largely ignored the role of patriotism in entrepreneurship and business management, a significant characteristic of currency is given very limited attention, that is, currency is patriotic.

Being patriotic, currency exit to sacrifice under all circumstances to continue to serve its domestic economy and its people (nationals and citizens). For this reason, I argue that, as Zimbabweans we should not think twice about which currencies to use in our economy.

Instead, we should ditch all currencies and retain our very own patriotic Zimbabwe Dollar as the sole currency in our nation.

In defense of my suggestion that lets ditch the US dollar and all other currencies in our basket of currencies, I will gladly take you back to our liberation struggle and evoke the voices of thousands of gallant sons and daughters of the soil, many of who paid the ultimate price of death, just so that we can be independent today (yet, currently politically — and still to be economically independent). Listen to their patriotic, sovereign, courageous, and assertive voices as they sing “Moyo Wangu”.

“Moyo wangu watsidza kufira Zimbabwe

Kuzadzisa basa randakasiirwa

Mumakomo nomunzizi tichararamo

Kudakara pfumo rangu ramutsa Zimbabwe

Rufu rwangu rwuchava rweZimbabwe

Yuw-i yuw-i vakoma vapera

Yuw-i yuw-i hama dzapera.”

How are you feeling, now that you have listened to that patriotic, national interest driven and an exclusive sacrificial song: To do more for Zimbabwe and her people than why you as an individual seeks to benefit out of Zimbabwe. This is exactly what a patriotic currency does. It has a voice and it takes a patriotic stance: Sacrificial defense of its people, economy and nation at large.

Frankly speaking and being entirely objective: Which of the two currencies, the Zimbabwe dollar or the US dollar can sing that song? Which of the two currencies, the Zimbabwe dollar or the US dollar can honestly vow, saying it is there “kuzadzisa basa randakasiirwa…kudakara pfumo rangu ramutsa Zimbabwe”.

Therefore, let us throw away this fear that if we ditch the US dollar, then that is the end of all of us. Zimbabwe is sovereign, Zimbabwe ngeye ropa remadzibaba and shall not cease to exist because the US dollar is no longer a legal tender. Factually, the US dollar cannot liberate us economically but the Zimbabwe dollar can and shall!

Coming back to economics and indeed global best practice, there is no economy throughout the world that can sustainably exercise effective monetary policy, successfully address national economic development objectives, effectively secure national interests, effectively drive a robust fiscal policy, and proactively prepare for unforeseen emergencies without its own local currency, the Patriotic Currency.

Clearly, foreign currencies are what they are: Foreign! meaning they are alien to our national interests and everything about who we are as a people. Foreign currencies are patriotic to their own domestic economies, which are of course alien and foreign to us.

It is, therefore, in this logic, that I present the argument that, patriotic currency is indeed yet another inevitable and significant driver for patriotic entrepreneurship. Given patriotic currency, a nation can for example, easily budget 1 percent or 2 percent of its GDP to go towards new venture start-ups and there by stimulate entrepreneurship.

Governments across the world are key enablers and drivers for entrepreneurship through not only legislating rules for doing business, but in addition, providing grants and other support funds as well as training facilities to boost entrepreneurship. All this requires a domestic currency, which is, the patriotic currency.

No foreign currency can genuinely support all these national initiatives; hence, the adage, he who pays the piper controls the tune! The US dollar will and actually funds more that which is line with its home economy domestic and foreign policies and not fund Zimbabwean domestic and foreign policies more.

In fact, as Zimbabweans we are very much privileged to understand the inevitable crucial role of patriotic currency, which is our very own Zimbabwe dollar because the practical evidence is right there and in abundance for all of us to see.

In my last two instalments, the roles of patriotic pricing and patriotic people management (Part 4) and the roles of patriotic marketing and patriotic market behaviour (Part 5) I lamented how owing to deficient patriotism among other factors, we continue to witness indiscipline in the market.

This is characterised by unjustified price volatilities driven by capitalist speculation and arbitrage to maximize profits at the expense of the wellbeing of the general public, our economy and nation at large. I have also been mentioning how it is a global best-practice for the government to move in and reign in such unjustified market failure.

My theorisation and explanations are not at all fiction because as we can all see; my analysis is indeed being vindicated. The past two weeks have really been terrible with our Zimbabwe dollar continuing to depreciate against the US dollar and prices shooting the roof, especially those quoted in our own currency.

Government has since announced its intentions to come up with a raft of measures to address this terrible market failure and to attest this, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon Minister Mthuli Ncube, made a prompt visit to Bulawayo’s CBD visiting a couple of retail outlets.

In an article entitled ‘Mthuli breathes fire over price hikes…threatens crackdown on business’ the Sunday Mail dated May 27, 2023 and reported by Bruce Ndlovu, The Sunday Mail observed how being angry, the Hon Minister Ncube tore down a poster that advertised goods only in US dollars, put up by a supermarket along Fort Street. Further, Minsiter Mthuli Ncube is reported to have said the following:

“Selling currency on the street, freely without shame, where do they get this money from?

They have brand-new notes and this is unacceptable. We want to send a strong message as Government that, firstly, we are not happy with these price increases and secondly, we are not happy with movements that we are seeing on the parallel market. We are taking action on it.

I saw swipe machines on the street and these people are running businesses from their cars, changing currency. Clearly, they are working with organised businesses,”

“Have you heard of the word schadenfreude? It is a German word that means taking delight from the misery of others. In English, they call it epicaricacy. That is what you’re practising. It is not good.”

As Government, we are not going to tolerate this kind of behaviour, where shops are refusing domestic currency and only accepting US dollars. Both currencies should be equally accepted but there’s just a wanton increase of prices, for no reason because nothing changed between this week and last week. It’s totally unacceptable and unjustifiable and, as Government, we are forced to allow citizens to import anything in terms of basic.

Then the big shops will complain and say we are informalising the economy yet it is them that are pushing up the prices. We have also just discovered that the middlemen between the producers and the retailers, the so-called aggregators, are also part of the problem.

We have decided that on Monday, we are going to fine and blacklist six of them. I won’t mention their names but I have got the list and we want them to stop behaving badly. Any shop that will be behaving in that manner will have their licence withdrawn,”

Clearly, if we are all to be honest, we cannot at all describe the ongoing market behaviour by our private sector as anywhere near patriotic. This behaviour is not at all reflective of the patriotic song “Moyo wangu”. Hon Minister Mthluli Ncube is, therefore, spot on by calling this market behaviour, exactly what it is, that is, “schadenfreude?” or “epicaricay” and its roots are well sunk, deep and firmly in capitalism.

Such market behaviour is anti-national interest and very much unpatriotic. Surprisingly, there are growing calls, which are even louder, as the wanton skyrocketing of prices continue and our Zimbabwe dollar freely falls, to the effect that, our economy should dollarise and we should ditch the Zimbabwe dollar.

Such calls begs the question: How can one say with the same conscience ‘I am Zimbabwean’ and at the same time say ‘Ditch the Zimbabwean dollar’ because ‘I love the US dollar’. Honestly, how can we as Zimbabweans have more faith in a foreign currency, the US dollar and reject our very own Zimbabwe dollar?

My suggestion and response as I alluded to earlier on is, we urgently need a mono currency: Let the Zimbabwe dollar be the sole currency, period! Of course, critics will argue that our shelves shall be empty and there shall be pandemonium.

To this I respond by saying, is it not an open secret that our economy has long been screaming and in turmoil more so because of some macroeconomic fundamentals and misalignments imposed on us by some Western powers, key of which is the use of the US dollar.

Regarding the view by some commentators both local and abroad that Zimbabwe shall be obliterated once it ditches the US dollar, in responding, I firstly draw upon the thousands of our gallant sons and daughters of the soil, those that sang “Moyo wangu watsidza kufira Zimbabwe . . .” and take the position that they did not fight the war of liberation with some of them paying the ultimate price in vain.

Therefore, let us ditch the US dollar and stick with our patriotic Zimbabwe dollar.

Further, I also leverage on biblical wisdom, regarding how during perilous and most difficult times, the best way forward, is to take decisive action that is not only in line with God’s word but for a start, an action that acknowledges one’s self determination and sovereignty: being created in God’s image.

God gave us brains so we can be sovereign in decision making and chatting our destiny within the global village. In this context, we read about how during their subjugation, the Jewish nation as represented by Esther made a bold resolve to take the rightful action which preserved their sovereignty and dignity as a people. So Esther made the decision to execute that action and when she made up her mind, her critics frightened her, but she responded, “…..if I perish, I perish”, (Esther 4:16).

From, this comes yet another revelation about the 12th key driver for patriotic entrepreneurship, and this is Patriotic leadership. Where are the Esthers, Deborahs, Marys, Jeftas, Joshuas, and Elishas of our time in our nation: Those that draw from and build upon our historic and patriotic liberation struggle to inculcate, coach, and mentor our young generation into patriotic entrepreneurs- which are those that exploit both our indigenous and foreign knowledge, start and grow enterprises and still remain Zimbabwean.

The result of this great Jewish story is that Esther was victorious and so was her people. In the same vein, by drawing on our historic patriotic liberation struggle and at the same time leveraging through faith in God who knows no favouritism, neither does he divides and rule us, but loves us all, indeed, if we ditch the US dollar, retain and stick with our patriotic currency: the Zimbabwe dollar as the sole legal tender, we shall be victorious.

To God, the power of globalists and neocolonialists is a nonentity; hence, if God is for us, who can be against us and succeed. In this divine context, as Zimbabweans, we shall indeed succeed with our Zimbabwe dollar through God who guides and strengthens us.

In conclusion, without a patriotic currency, which is our Zimbabwe dollar, we are very much crippled as a nation to effectively and sustainably secure our national interests, drive monetary and fiscal policies, address national economic objectives, and proactively plan and prepare for unforeseen emergencies.

In addition, without a patriotic currency, we are less able to effectively foster and execute patriotic entrepreneurship at micro (individual), meso (industry) and macro (national) levels.

Overall, I continue to argue and call upon all our Zimbabwean businesspersons to embrace patriotic entrepreneurship if we are to significantly impact positively towards socio-economic development in our nation. Patriotic entrepreneurship is all about us as Zimbabwean businesspersons putting our nation first and borrowing from Hon Minister Mthuli Ncube, avoiding ‘schadenfreude?’ or ‘epicaricay’.

Join me in my next article when I shall look at the roles of patriotic entrepreneurship development and patriotic knowledge creation.

Dr Charlie provides cutting edge consultancy in Entrepreneurship and Business Management. Importantly, SME growth, policy and development is central to his work. Dr Charlie holds a B. Com Marketing Degree – Zimbabwe Open University, MBA – Africa University and a PhD in Management from Manchester Metropolitan University, (UK). He is contactable on Email: drcharlie@sbgazim.com Mobile: +263 71 370 2933-ebusinessweekly