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Zimbabweans In Shock As Mnangagwa Regime Enforces ZiG Payments And Price Controls<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Tinashe Sambiri \u2013 Zimbabweans are facing a fresh economic nightmare as the Mnangagwa administration moves to enforce a rigid National Standard Price List and force payments in the struggling Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). Analysts warn that the policy could worsen inflation, disrupt businesses, and leave citizens paying the price for government mismanagement.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube defended the policy at Tuesday\u2019s post-Cabinet briefing, claiming it targets \u201coverpricing by suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have come up with this National Standard Price List. Why did we do that? The reason really is that we had noticed that there\u2019s been overpricing by suppliers to the government for what the government consumes in terms of goods and services,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The price list sets strict limits on items ranging from pens to bond paper, and the e-procurement system, managed by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), will automatically reject any purchases above the government-dictated range. \u201cAnything above that specified range is then seen as overpricing, and therefore the system is able to reject this,\u201d Ncube added.<\/p>\n
Even more worrying, the Mnangagwa administration insists on paying all locally produced goods in ZiG. \u201cWe prefer to pay out in ZiG for any supply of locally produced goods.<\/p>\n
That will promote demand for our local currency,\u201d Ncube said, despite warnings that this could worsen inflation and deepen the currency crisis.
Ncube also assured the public that foreign currency reserves are sufficient to cover imports.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have enough US dollars to cover any demand for imports in ZiG. We\u2019ve got 1.2 billion dollars, 1.5 billion dollars in reserves in hard currency, including gold\u2026there\u2019s no reason to worry about any access to foreign currency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The minister claimed the measures will prevent overpayments and ensure contractors are paid on time. \u201cAll we are doing here is making sure that there is order in government\u2019s procurement processes and within certain price ranges that are reasonable, and we don\u2019t overpay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
However, many Zimbabweans see the policy as yet another example of the Mnangagwa regime\u2019s economic mismanagement\u2014tightening its grip on the economy while citizens struggle with soaring inflation, a collapsing currency, and shrinking access to basic goods.<\/p>\n
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