LATEST POSTS
Gonomics and the crafty Yuan deception
RESERVE Bank Governor, Gideon Gono’s repeated call to replace the US dollar with the Chinese Yuan alongside the Zimbabwe dollar is either superbly feckless, crafty deception or economic emotionalism. There is no denying that the ‘Look East Policy’ is bearing … Read more
Government should support ethanol production
RECENT news that Green Fuel, a pioneering Zimbabwean ethanol processing company, is currently sitting on 8 million litres of ethanol (E10) in their storage facilities due to a slow uptake by the market sounds like irresponsible economic suicide. By all … Read more
European economic crisis: Is it time to head home?
AN EMERGING trend within the diaspora community in the UK points towards a gradual increase in the number of people who have, or are considering returning to Zimbabwe or emigrating to other countries as a result of the global economic … Read more
The futility of bankers’ prosecution
NICHOLAS Vingirayi, an alleged ‘rogue’ banker with an international arrest warrant, was extradited to Zimbabwe and arraigned before the courts on fraud charges dating back to the 2003 banking sector crisis regarding the collapse of Intermarket Holdings Limited. Another pointless … Read more
The case for a Zimbabwe Diaspora bond
ZIMBABWE’S Finance Ministry should be commended for launching a consultation programme intended to seek stakeholder participation in the drafting of a broad-based 2012 budget. Faced with a projected year end fiscal deficit of $700 million and a debt overhang of … Read more
RBM collapse: a failure of regulation
THE recent problems at ReNaissance have no doubt reignited sad memories of the 2003 financial sector crisis in which 13 indigenous banks collapsed. Between December 2003 and June 2004, five banks were placed under curatorship, two were liquidated and four … Read more
Between a pizza and a hard place
Why every emigrant should prioritise their financial planning A FEW days ago, a patently healthy colleague with no history of any medical problems collapsed at a Birmingham City gym and was rushed to a local hospital. Despite the doctors finding … Read more
Curious case of Mujuru and the Chinese yuan
AS FAR as economic ideas go, Vice President Joice Mujuru’s contemplative bright spark regarding adopting the Chinese Yuan as Zimbabwe’s currency is the most unorthodox. With due respect to Mujuru, as economists we can only assume the statement was perhaps … Read more
Indigenisation: Right law, wrong time
ZIMBABWE’S indigenisation law sadly reveals the ineptitude of vacuous economic policies that rarely fail to miss the point. Fewer would be convinced that an almost bankrupt country, recently on the verge of an economic implosion and barely admitted into the … Read more
Stingy Samaritans: Zimbabwe’s debt burden should be eased
I WAS privileged to attend an investment conference hosted by the ZDDI in London a week ago at which the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Gorden Moyo was the guest of honour. Among other topics, the … Read more
Is Biti’s budget good enough?
THE Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review delivered by the Minister of Finance (a man thought to have the hardest job in the world) reasonably attracted much attention from various stakeholders. Faced with a previously moribund economy, it is hardly possible that … Read more
Tsvangirai’s Report Card on the economy
ZIMBABWE’S government of national unity has limped towards 100 days in office, and the Prime Minister has just launched a second phase 100-day agenda which is said to provide a blue print for the implementation of key sector reforms and … Read more
RBZ ‘Inflation Cars’ threat to revival efforts
WHEN it comes to the Zimbabwean economy, there have been few reasons to be cheerful. The economic decline before the unity arrangement was so severe that it set the country back by more than half a century. Statistics show … Read more
Restructuring RBZ more important than firing Gono
REFORM: Reforming central bank mandate more useful that firing Governor IF RECENT media reports are to be believed, there is a serious political showdown regarding the reappointment of the Governor of the central bank Dr Gideon Gono, in apparent … Read more
Should Foliwars be abolished?
DESPITE the recent ‘acting’ National Budget and ‘acting’ Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) being a progressive return to market economics, there still is a certain degree of ambivalence in the orthodox thinking on exchange rate policy which needs clarification. Should … Read more
