Mnangagwa barking up wrong tree

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the first of a series of victory rallies in Epworth at the weekend, and is earmarked to cover the entire country to ostensibly thank those who voted for the ruling Zanu-PF party candidates during last month's by-elections.

And during a speech to his multitude of supporters in the bustling dormitory town, Mnangagwa said: "We will be dealing with other big companies who are working with outsiders that are manipulating the exchange rate to bring suffering to our people…We are closing some banks doing that."

This is very, very sad and unfortunate, especially coming from the President, who we believe should know better.

We strongly believe that threatening companies and especially banks, with closure at this point in our painful journey will do us no good. In fact, it will only lead us into worse problems than we are currently facing as a nation.

We now fear that our dear President is surrounded by people who might be bent on expediting his exit from State House. Because, honestly speaking, our economic challenges are sticking out so clearly like a sore thumb that even a toddler in kindergarten can see them.

Why are people around our President misinforming him that someone out there is busy manipulating the exchange rate in this country? If, indeed, that person is out there, then damn, they must be dazzlingly brilliant to be able to create and manipulate not one, but actually three exchange rates: The parallel market rate, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe auction rate and the mobile money exchange rate.

That person or company or bank must be a real demon, the devil incarnate, in fact.

The truth of the matter Mr President is that our local currency (and our economy at large) are in serious trouble simply because we are not producing and exporting enough to strengthen the Zimdollar and the economy. Simply put it in the Shona street lingo, economy yadhakwa (the economy is in dire straits).

We have not been able to produce enough hence inflation continues to spike upwards because there is too much money chasing very few goods, most of which we are actually importing, which makes matters worse.

If we have produced and exported enough since you took over control of the country Mr President, then what this is pointing to is that the money we have raised so far to shore up the Zimdollar and economy has been leaking big timer through a very enormous hole.

We are really worried that people around the President are lying through their teeth about this and their ill-informed conclusions, as to why the Zimdollar continues to be walloped on the market, are now dangerously clouding his judgment.

Need we tell our President that the economy is such a huge animal that no single person or company or bank can control it? And closing companies and banks will only exacerbate the problem, especially at a time when the country's oldest bank, Standard Chartered, has called it quits — abandoning this troubled economy for good after a staggering 130 years.

Why Standard Chartered, among the world's biggest banks, has decided to flee at such breakneck speed should be what our President must be pondering about. He should be spending sleepless nights trying to resolve the conundrum and not add salt to an already festering wound.

It is quite embarrassing that our President continues to bark up the wrong tree.