While the country is in a dire economic crisis, the economy hobbling is directly or indirectly exacerbated by the Finance minister Mthuli Ncube and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya pursuing different agendas and at times issue directives without informing each other, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said according to The Standard
According to the publication:
While Ncube, a Cambridge-trained economist, is often accused of being overly optimistic, his push to cut spending and bring order to chaotic government finances has been lauded. By comparison, Mangudya, an appointee of former president Robert Mugabe, is seen as a governor who puts political considerations ahead of rational economic decisions.
Sources that spoke to the publication about the supposed rift between the 2 RBZ and Treasury bosses said:
The blame for the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy may be squarely placed on the mismanaged reintroduction by the central bank of a local currency after 10 years of dollarisation. Ncube seems out of his depth in the current cash-shortage crisis. He lacks the political clout to implement real structural change in the distressed economy.- Robert Besseling, a director at EXX Africa
Ncube’s focus on austerity and orthodox economics has been seen by Mangudya as unwise in a country with Zimbabwe’s unstable politics – Another person said
Zimbabwe’s economy took a nosedive since 2018 with inflation forecasted to be above 440% as of October 2019.
More: The Standard