The nightmare of inflation comes back to haunt Zimbabwe: The Standard

The price of bread nearly doubled for Zimbabweans last week, as the nightmare of inflation that marked the reign of long-time authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe returns to haunt his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

There have been warnings about the psychological and physical consequences of the widespread price rises on Zimbabweans after the cost of a loaf of bread went from $ 1.80 to $ 3.50, and the price from one butter tub went from $ 8.50 to $ 17.
Mnangagwa is committed to reviving the moribund economy of his country when Mugabe was overthrown in 2017 after 37 years of power.
But after the central bank unveiled a new monetary policy in February, introducing a new local currency, prices for goods and services soared at rates never seen in a decade.

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The disparity between official and parallel market exchange rates has widened rapidly, leading to price increases of up to 300%.
Japhet Moyo, head of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, remembers meeting a man who had seen the price of drugs to cure his chronic illness so much in two months that it cost him almost all of his salary.
In February, the man bought a stock of drugs for a month at a price of $ 95. This month, he paid $ 300. His monthly salary is $ 320.
"I asked him how he managed to cover the rest of his monthly expenses and he broke down crying," Moyo told AFP.
Moyo is angry at the government for "having a brave face and giving the impression that the economy is bouncing back but that things are going in the opposite direction on the ground".

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& # 39; Back in 2008 & # 39;
The crisis recalled memories of ten years ago, when hyperinflation reached 500 billion grotesques, thus destroying the Zimbabwean dollar.
"We are back in 2008," said Tonderai Chitsvari, a resident of the Kuwadzana suburb of the capital Harare. "It's a miracle that people survive."
A shortage of raw materials has caused enormous difficulties for the country's manufacturing sector.
"Last year, we spent 2.3 billion US dollars to import products such as fruits and vegetables, soy, wheat … toothpaste and pharmaceuticals," said L & 39. Harare economist, Gift Mugano.

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"It's a sign that we do not even produce the basics," he added.
"We are not talking about making a plane here, we are talking about saving scarce foreign currency by growing wheat to bake our bread and soybeans to produce our own cooking oil."
Zimbabwe's Confederation of Industries leader Sifelani Jabangwe said the government should allocate scarce currency to support struggling manufacturers.
"We must reduce (…) imports and promote local production," he added.
Once a regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe's economy has been in a disastrous state for over a decade, and the unemployment rate has risen to more than 90 percent.

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Many local businesses were forced to move abroad or close their doors, while those that remained were below capacity due to lack of foreign exchange to import raw materials or modernize machinery.
Public anger against the economy contributed to the November 2017 military intervention that finally shot down Mugabe, then 93 years old.
Mnangagwa took power and won disputed elections last July, promising to make Zimbabwe a middle-income economy by 2030.
However, less than three months after the vote, the economic turmoil of the Mugabe era came back when a new 2% tax on electronic transactions in October caused prices to rise and fuel shortages.
In January of this year, the president imposed an increase of more than 100% in the price of gasoline, supposed to alleviate the shortages, but demonstrations were organized all over the country, causing at least 17 deaths when the soldiers opened fire on the protesters.
"Inhuman, unethical, not patriotic"
Mnangagwa celebrated Thursday the 39th anniversary of the country's independence by slamming the new wave of price rises.
"The government is alarmed by the recent unjustified and indiscriminate price increases that have caused untold suffering to the population," he said.
It is "inhuman, unethical, non-patriotic and goes against the economic dialogue that the second republic has married," he told the crowd in a stadium. Harare.
John Robertson, an independent economist and veteran, warned of the consequences of economic chaos on Zimbabweans.
"The standard of living is going down," Robertson told AFP. "It's going to affect their mental and physical health and reduce their productivity."
Moyo said that people "give in to stress, which is why we have so many cases of people who would have died as a result of a short illness".
And the main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, warned in his Independence Day message on Twitter that "the harsh reality is that most people are shocked by extreme poverty and frustrations.

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