It's Time For Mthuli Ncube To Resign, Says Hanke

American economist Steve Hanke says Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion should resign as he has failed to turn around the country’s economic fortunes.

The Johns Hopkins professor on Monday said Zimbabwe’s inflation was the highest in the world at 1 397%, 38.80% more than his last reading. He said:

Welcome to Zimbabwe, home to the world’s highest inflation rate – a stunning 1 397%/yr. It’s time for Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to resign.

Zimbabwe’s economic woes have worsened since Ncube was appointed Treasury boss more than five years ago.

The United States dollar now dominates domestic transactions, while the Zimbabwe dollar now trades at ZW$18 000 per US$1 on the parallel market.

Ncube hiked various taxes and introduced new ones in the 2024 national budget and this has resulted in massive price hikes and the erosion of workers’ salaries, particularly civil servants.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently hinted at a raft of policy changes that he said were meant to arrest the RTGS dollar’s massive devaluation and halt the country’s gravitation towards full dollarisation.

More: Pindula News