American economist Steve Hanke has called for Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to step down and acknowledge his failure in addressing Zimbabwe’s economic woes.
Hanke’s remarks come in light of Zimbabwe’s soaring inflation rate, which currently stands at a staggering 1,170%, surpassing second-placed Argentina by a significant margin.
As a professor at Johns Hopkins University, Hanke has been tracking Zimbabwe’s inflation rate for over five years, with his most recent measurement putting it at 1,397% on Monday, marking a 38.80% increase from his previous reading.
Despite being a graduate of the University of Cambridge, Ncube has been unable to curb the depreciation of Zimbabwe’s currency, which now trades at ZW$18,000 per US$1 on the parallel market.
In a statement, Hanke remarked, “Welcome to Zimbabwe, home to the world’s highest inflation rate – a stunning 1,397% per year. It’s time for Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to resign.”
The Zimbabwe dollar has failed to function effectively as a store of value or medium of exchange, leading to a significant shift towards the use of US dollars in most internal transactions within the country. Informal traders, particularly tuckshops, which play a crucial role in providing essential goods, no longer accept the local currency.
The Zimbabwe dollar was reintroduced in 2019 to replace a multi-currency system that had previously stabilized the country’s volatile economy. However, the system has faltered, with the government considering its removal in 2025.
Efforts to eliminate the Zimbabwe dollar have faced challenges, with Zanu-PF and President Emmerson Mnangagwa asserting that no country has ever developed while using another nation’s currency. Mnangagwa has instead hinted at forthcoming policy changes aimed at halting the drastic devaluation of the currency.
“We shall soon be announcing the introduction of our structured currency,” Mnangagwa stated.
Source – newzimbabwe