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((INTRO)) Economists in Zimbabwe say the government is artificially manipulating the country's sinking currency in a bid to secure victory in next month’s general elections. Inflation and the weakness of the Zimbabwean dollar have become an issue in the election, with the main opposition party saying it will abandon the currency if voted into office. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, Zimbabwe.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/Script ZIMBABWE CURRENCY ELECTIONS (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Economists Say Zimbabwe Gov’t Trying to Manipulate Currency as Election Gimmick TEASER: But the central bank says the measures are likely to remain in place after Zimbabwe’s August 23 general election
PUBLISHED AT: 7/27/23 at 3:30pm
BYLINE: Columbus Mavhunga
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: HARARE, ZIMBABWE
VIDEOGRAPHER: Blessing Chigwenhembe
VIDEO EDITOR: ASSIGNING EDITOR: Schearf,
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, MAS
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, see courtesies
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV_X RADIO_X
TRT: 3:18
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) Economists in Zimbabwe say the government is artificially manipulating the country's sinking currency in a bid to secure victory in next month’s general elections. Inflation and the weakness of the Zimbabwean dollar have become an issue in the election, with the main opposition party saying it will abandon the currency if voted into office. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, Zimbabwe.
((NARRATOR))
Over the past few weeks, Zimbabwe’s dollar gotten stronger against the U.S. dollar – a rare occurrence in recent years.
Still, prices for groceries and other basic goods keep going up. Thirty-two-year old Bigboy Kushupika wants that to change.
((Bigboy Kushupika, Zimbabwean Citizen)) ((Shona 19 seconds)) “My wish is for prices and rate to move together. Not having prices in U.S. dollars going up when its rate against the Zimbabwe dollar is going down. Prices keep increasing in U.S. dollar, that’s where the challenge is. I do not know how they have to solve this."
((NARRATOR))
Zimbabweans have used foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar and the South African rand since the collapse of the original Zimbabwean dollar amid severe hyperinflation in 2008.
The government issued a new Zimbabwean dollar a few years ago, but it has struggled to maintain value.
Economists say that in recent weeks, the government has suspended payments for major projects like road construction with the goal of reining in spending, bolstering the currency and easing inflation.
Gift Mugano, an economics professor at Durban University of Technology, says this is being done because of Zimbabwe’s August 23 general election:
((Gift Mugano, Economics Professor)) (English))
“They want to create a force impression that the government is winning the war and exchange it. But in all economic reasoning, we cannot concentrate on the exchange of the effective policy instrument to direct the economy to stability.”
((NARRATOR))
But Persistence Gwanyanya, an economist who sits on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s monetary committee, rejects claims of currency manipulation.
He says the government’s currency measures are working and prices will go down:
((Persistence Gwanyanya, Zimbabwe Central Bank Committee)) “But we understand that adjustment may not happen in one day. It may take time.” But I'm pretty confident that post-election, the situation will remain as it is.”
((NARRATOR))
Prosper Chitambara is a senior economist with the Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe.
He predicts that after the election – which the ruling Zanu-PF party is expected to win -- the government will resume payments and the local dollar will revert to its usual ways, plummeting.
((Prosper Chitambara, Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (English, 27 seconds)) ((Mandatory cc: WhatsApp))
“Ultimately for sustainability, we need a tight monetary policy, we need monetary discipline, we need to control money supply. We need fiscal discipline, we need to control public spending and we also need institutional reforms, especially those that are aimed at plugging in leakages and corruption within the system. Because that also has a destabilizing effect on the macro-economy. "
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, Zimbabweans, like Kushupika, are closely watching the currency, as they see prices on basic goods and services rise and the local dollar is firming up.
((Columbus Mavhunga, for VOA News, Harare, Zimbabwe))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Harare, Zimbabwe
Embargo DateJuly 27, 2023 17:34 EDT
Byline
Columbus Mavhunga, for VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English