Zim Finance Minister Says COVID-19 Slowed Down Economic Growth

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube has said that the country’s economy has slowed down since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in China last year.

Ncube told NewsDay during an interview last week that the country could have benefited on the reduction of oil prices worldwide but has been dealt a huge blow overall. He said:

But we have benefited when it comes to the oil sector because oil prices have come down and we are a net oil importer, so that is a positive.

But generally, if you look at the global supply chain in terms of raw materials from China and everywhere, that has been impacted and that has contributed to the economic slowdown.

Zimbabwe was already submerged under an economic and humanitarian crisis when the virus emerged in China and the pandemic made matters worse.

The local industry is collapsed therefore the country depends on imports to sustain demand and importation was impossible as countries around the globe were on total shutdown to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

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