Carte Blanche with Perry

Harare Central Business District The recent announcement of the country`s official inflation data carries quite some far reaching ramifications for the local economy. Zimstat announced the annual inflation figure for October at 20.85%, far above the SADC region`s benchmark of 7%.  This is the highest inflation figure since the country dollarized in early 2009. In the 9 months to September 2018, inflation had averaged 3.58% according to Zimstat`s own data, with the RBZ forecasting that annual inflation for 2018 would end the year well below the 7% threshold. However, October alone saw inflation gaining by 15.46 percentage points, significantly overshooting the central bank`s targets. There has been widespread discontent over the authenticity of the data from Zimstat itself.  OK Zimbabwe recently reported an average internal rate of inflation of 12.2%, while the controversial Steve Hanke an economist at the Johns Hopkins University who tracks trouble...

Image Credit: Reuters Zimbabwe’s economy is bleeding, has been for a while, but the upcoming budget statement by finance minister Mthuli Ncube presents him with the opportunity to suture up the economic wounds. More importantly, this will be an opportunity to prove that he has the backbone to stand up for treasury’s independence and display its resolve in achieving long-term fiscal sustainability.  After all, that is the reason why he was headhunted by the Mnangagwa administration, in theory at least. The exact details of his coming on board as minister are not public but if there is any truth to rumours that he was initially hesitant, then he will have some considerable clout in pushing his agenda, to the extent that he had to be courted to accept the post. Events following his appointment as minister have been anything but smooth however. The seemingly never-ending contradictory statements from treasury and the central bank have all but contributed in creating warp...

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries President, Busisa Moyo Reflecting on the meteoric rise of Sony Corporation shortly after its formation, co-founder Akio Morita wrote in his memoir Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony, “I believe one of the reasons we went through such a remarkable growth period was that we had this atmosphere of free discussion. We have never tried to stifle it.” It is worth mentioning that Sony was founded just after the end of the Second World War, against a backdrop of deep uncertainty, when Japan was starting to rebuilding its economy. Free discourse between Zimbabwe`s business sector and the government has broken down over the years. Numerous arrests, the hounding of business-people to the point of some even fleeing the country, and being branded as saboteurs has become something that local business-people are accustomed to.  These events hardly build trust and promote a healthy level of dialogue between government and the business community...