
He is lucky if he is allowed to take out just $20 of his
monthly $63 (53 euros) pension as banks limit withdrawals due to the cash
shortage — a symptom of the country’s economic collapse.
For most Zimbabweans, incoming president Emmerson Mnangagwa
has only one priority: rebuilding an economy shattered by policies that threw
out investors, destroyed the key agricultural sector and left almost everyone
unemployed.
“I have to sleep in the queue if I want to get money. I
came here last night and this is not good,” Mutungwazi told AFP, wincing as he
shifted to find a more comfortable position on the pavement.
Beside him in the queue at the government-owned People’s
Own Savings Bank, an elderly woman laid half asleep while a young mother tried
to control her restless child.
The shortage of banknotes is a legacy of the hyperinflation
10 years ago that forced the government to abandon the Zimbabwean dollar.
Inflation hit 500 billion percent as the government printed
one-hundred-trillion dollar bank notes that could barely buy a loaf of bread.
All savings were wiped out.
To ease the crisis, Harare has introduced a parallel “bond
note” currency that is pegged to the US dollar but few people trust it
Since then, the economy has survived on scarce US dollar
notes — often used until they fall apart — and for the past year a parallel
“bond note” currency that is pegged to the US dollar but widely distrusted.
The World Bank estimates that 2.8 million people, or 17.5
percent of the population, are short of food, and says paying public wages
sucks up a staggering 87 percent of government revenue.
Zimbabwe’s unemployment level is generally put at over 90
percent, while the size of the economy has halved since 2000 when many
white-owned farms were seized.
Mnangagwa addressed the unemployment crisis in his first
speech as the president-in-waiting on Wednesday, saying: “We want to grow our
country. We want jobs, jobs, jobs!”
Among the cheering crowd was Remigio Mutero, 30, an
unemployed IT graduate. “All I want is job creation, and he has promised it,”
he told AFP.
Anger at bond notes was a driving force behind protests
last year, while rocketing prices have returned in recent months — adding to
the pressure that finally forced the military to take over.
The country does have economic strengths, especially in
tobacco, cotton and mining, and Mugabe’s fall could offer the chance to open
the taps for funding from overseas donors like the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).
Mnangagwa — a veteran Mugabe loyalist — appears open to
limited economic reform, including of the “indigenisation” laws that force
foreign-owned companies to sell majority stakes to locals.
Reinstating Patrick Chinamasa as Zimbabwe’s finance
minister would send a positive message, analysts say.
The IHS Markit analysis consultancy also predicted the
reinstatement of former finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, saying the move
“would indicate a more pro-business shift (and) re-engagement with the
international community”.
But local economists like Tony Hawkins, a professor at the
University of Zimbabwe, warned that the country’s problems run deep and
international donors may not be encouraged by the new ZANU-PF regime.
“Lenders like the IMF want reforms. They will say trim the
civil services, cut the wage bill. None of these can be achieved overnight,” he
said.
“If Mnangagwa cuts civil servants salaries, he is going to
lose his support. “We have no money in the banks, we have a huge budget
deficit, there is hardly any foreign direct investment. There is no magic
wand.”
Many ordinary Zimbabweans, still stunned that Mugabe is no
longer in power, are seizing on the chance to be more optimistic.
“We have suffered for too long,” said Charles Mutimhairi,
35, who runs a stationery shop.
“Real change means creating a stable environment for new
investment to bring more money and to expand companies and create jobs. We need
confidence for that to be able to happen.” AP
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