The former President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Peter Mutasa has said the economic crisis in Zimbabwe was not triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mutasa, who is the chairperson of the Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition, said a plummeting local currency and government interventions are all contributing to skyrocketing cost of living in Zimbabwe.
He said the state is choosing to run the economy through propaganda and not economic fundamentals. Mutasa said:
We can talk about the Ukraine invasion, we can talk about COVID-19, but all those came when we already had a crisis. A big crisis for that matter. So we are a state that is failing, and we are failing in all respects.
So both people, Zimbabweans within the country and those in the diaspora, especially those who are in the diaspora who are the main players in terms of keeping the economy going contributing almost a quarter of our budget through remittances and also covering the state’s failure to provide social protection, they are paying school fees of orphans, paying for medical care for the parents and for extended family.
So everyone is not taking the minister seriously. It is a pity that they want to run the economy through propaganda and not economic fundamentals.
He speaks after Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube suggested that there was no crisis in the southern African country. When asked how the government plans to deal with the crisis, Ncube’s response was: “What crisis”?
His response comes when prices of basic commodities have been rising in local shops while some products are disappearing from shelves.
The Zimbabwe dollar is shedding value against the United States dollar and other currencies prompting workers across the board to demand payment of salaries in foreign currency.