President Emmerson Mnangagwa has blamed what he calls the country’s detractors for runaway inflation and the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar against other currencies.
Addressing the 369th Ordinary Session of the Politburo in Harare on 13 August, Mnangagwa warned that those behind price hikes and the devaluation of the local currency will be prosecuted. He said:
As we convene today and focus on the elections, the usual machinations and heinous acts of our country’s detractors to reverse our development agenda are glaring.
This is evidenced by their antics and asymmetrical warfare tactics, which include the attack on our currency and the wanton increase in prices of basic commodities…
They will never succeed and perpetrators are being brought to book.
This week, the Zimbabwe dollar further weakened on the official exchange rate market to US$1: ZWL$5 978 from ZWL$4 868 set last week.
Traders are allowed to peg the rates at a range of plus or minus 10% which means that they can now use a high of ZW$6 575 against the US dollar.
Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has blamed the Government for exchange rate volatility. He said:
You print a lot of money and pump it into the economy.
The natural happens, the local currency crashes and prices go up ending up with the highest inflation rate in the world.
You offer Government services like passports and customs duty in US Dollar terms only.
Then you blame others for your misfortunes!
On Tuesday, Chin’ono said Zimbabwe is now in hyperinflation with an Inflation Rate of 1 220%. He said Zimbabwe’s inflation rate is now the highest in the world.
More: Pindula News