In the Abundance of Water...

For how long shall we be restricted by the seeming dearth of Fx with which to fund direly needed imports? It remains a mystery. Another mystery that readily comes to mind is the saying, “In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty”. It reverberates in several spheres of our affairs: an abundance of crude oil yet we suffer perennial losses of man hours and endless long queues at petrol stations; an abundance of cocoa yet we cannot process chocolates; an abundance of hides and skins yet we cannot process fine leather; an abundance of latent talent yet we cannot develop maverick industries. The list could easily become alarming.

However, what I wish to limit my dissertation to concerns how our leadership appears unable to think out of the box. When one finds oneself in a precarious situation it behooves a wise person to device a practical means to an end. Gallivanting around the Hemisphere in search of ready-made solutions that would be cut and pasted may end up as a meaningless misadventure. We suffer the misfortune of being an import-dependent economy. Our main source of Fx has lost its value. We find ourselves going to the market cap in hand, seeking creditors that can’t be found. Who would be eager to lend a hand when the guarantee of repayment is as dim as a moonless night? Isn’t this the time to rethink hitherto tested solutions? Shouldn’t we be crafting home-grown models? What have we to lose?

Truly, in the abundance of water the fool is thirsty. We have an arsenal of people who have stashed Fx away in mind boggling quantities in even more mind boggling places. The hard working person who from fear of an insecure tomorrow, habitually changed his/her income to Fx every chance he/she got. Add to these the speculator who, gambling on the lure of gain from exchange rates habitually changed lump sums of money into Fx. And of course, the opportunist that found him/herself in public office, usurped our common wealth and converted into Fx for ease of movement. From the conventional safe, to the attic, to false holes within walls, to cesspits and even absurdly, farmland. Fx abounds within the confines of this country. Stashed away. Doing absolutely nothing. Like the proverbial talent that lay buried.

Had I been in government with some executable amount of clout, I would propose the following. Anyone with Fx should support government by advancing me the sum. I would open a window of opportunity whereby such a person would serve as a creditor to my government with the assurance of not only receiving interest on the sum, but also excused from being harangued over the source of the money. Suppose I attract $1bn in cash. I would place this amount in a bank and use as collateral to fund my imports. I would seek credit terms with the suppliers to enable me import raw materials, disburse to the relevant industries, allow these industries to produce and generate sales. The income generated from sales would then be used to offset the initial imports. My focus would be on getting the suppliers to agree to terms that would incorporate the cycle needed to transform raw materials to consumable goods to sales. This way, there would be little pressure on the $1bn I collected, other than for the cycle to be adhered to. If I’m able to repeat the cycle four to five times in a year I would be able to pay interest on the sum collected and still generate money for my government. By keeping industries up-and-doing I would be keeping several downstream businesses alive, preventing looming layoffs, reducing social unrest and slowly but surely rebuilding the confidence of the masses in the ability of this economy.

What lies on the other side of this coin? Well, the government is lame and can’t secure Fx with which to maintain its balance. Industries gradually lose steam and operate at a fraction of their capacities. Layoffs are the new kid on the block. The young boy who aspired to be a truck driver like his dad becomes despondent upon seeing his father lose his job. He succumbs to strong feelings he had shrugged off in the past, of following in the foot-steps of his peers, of making easy money, of robbing and kidnapping and killing. He ventures into this dark realm with a vengeance. All of his victims are traumatized and several are wasted. The hard working person who from fear of an insecure tomorrow, habitually changed his/her income to Fx. The speculator who, gambling on the lure of gain from exchange rates habitually changed lump sums of money into Fx. And of course, the opportunist who having found him/herself in public office, usurped our common wealth. He systematically devours them and inflicts a gruesome penalty on all, one by one.