Zimbabwe Business Watch : Week 44
The refusal by ZANU PF to implement the outstanding issues of the GPA, has dampened the enthusiasm of business.
It is hoped that the SADC Troika meetings in Harare this week will unlock the process of reform and allow the economy to kickstart through the injection of much needed foreign capital.
More and more US Dollars are circulating in the predominantly Rand areas of the economy as Civil Servants are being paid in this currency. Furthermore, Rand is being consumed more and more in cross-border business transactions and currency street vendors have all but disappeared.
The anomalies of the Northern exchange rate of 10:1 as opposed to the South, based on of the ruling rate of the day (Presently 7,5:1) allows for profiteering and the converse increase in cost for those using Rand to purchase goods costed in US Dollars.
Wankie Colliery coal supplies to Hwange Power Station have doubled from this time last year and ZESA is now paying in advance. Power outages have diminished taking some pressure of hard pressed industry. However this news comes on the back of an announcement of a cut of 250MW as generation plant goes under extensive maintenance.
