CEO Africa Roundtable chairman Oswell Binha said the authorities are definitely printing money given the movements on the market. ’
“Indeed, we are beginning to see upward pressures on the exchange rate and this is inevitable given the money supply levels in our country. To understand this fully, we need to answer a million-dollar question on how we end up in such a volatile situation as an economy. Elementary economics suggests that exchange rate deterioration and inflation in particular is a monetary phenomenon. Our current situation is benchmarked by excessive printing of money. The total ZWL$ supply in the local currency in circulation increased by over 600% from the ZWL$2.4 trillion in December 2022 to over ZWL$16 trillion as of August 2023. Based on this analysis, reversing our curse needs prudent fiscal deficit management, avoidance of excessive printing [stop the unnecessary running of money printing machines] and adherence to the basic principles of money such as creating an environment which enables operation of market forces,” Binha said.
Treasury spokesperson Clive Mpambela argued that there was no gigantic payment in the market.
“Treasury didn’t make a huge payment but sticking to value for payment basis. Whenever we pay we ensure we don’t upset the market. What is happening right now is that many people who had halted their businesses for elections to be held are now utilising their money.
“Many projects are behind time to complete their projects hence people have accelerated the pace to meet the deadlines,” Mpambela said.