CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) President Nelson Chamisa has blamed President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube for Zimbabwe’s runaway inflation that has seen prices of basics galloping beyond reach of many.
The ZWL rapid loss of value in the past month has not just seen a steep hike in prices by producers who now favour US dollars but erosion of already meagre salaries across sectors.
Ncube, who has been struggling to gain control of Zimbabwe’s waning economy since taking over in 2018, threatened businesses opting for the US dollar and at one point moved shop by shop in Bulawayo ordering that they reduce prices.
He referred to the price hikes as being speculative.
However, speaking to journalists Chamisa said there was nothing Mnangagwa and Ncube could do to solve Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.
“Everyone is hungry, everyone is complaining, everyone feels that the situation in the country is not okay.
“This is the problem of having the wrong leader or being led by one who takes power illegitimately as Mnangagwa did. You will realise none of the things that person will do would have been well thought out.
“No one knows how he thinks, he changes like the weather. Nothing works and we want to fix all that by voting for the right candidate.
“Look at how Mnangagwa and Ncube are behaving. Their tools box is empty, they cannot resolve the economic questions of the day, they cannot understand that confidence, predictability and consistency of policy are everything.
“The price hikes are an indicator of hikes in all other ill-spheres. We are part of those that lead in corruption, unemployment, inflation, road accidents, reserves, politically motivated violence, poor road networks, arrest of political players and journalists.”
With a 2l bottle of cooking oil going for as much as US$5 and a crate of eggs for as much as US$9, Zimbabwe is slowly welcoming a return to the 2008 era of daily price hikes.
To arrest the crisis, Ncube announced a series of measures including the suspension duty on all basic commodities for six months, starting May 17, 2023.
The suspension focused on rice, flour, cooking oil, margarine, salt, sugar, maize meal, powdered milk, milk formula, tea, petroleum jelly, toothpaste, bath soap, laundry and washing powder.
Source – NewZimbabwe
