If you’d like a vision of the Ozymandian achievements of Robert Mugabe then here’s a number for you. The central bank governor is boasting that the new foreign exchange market regulations have led to a staggering $45 million in trade. Over three weeks. No, that’s not per week, that’s over the three weeks. Compare this with London’s $2.7 trillion a day.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya says US$45 million has been traded over the past three weeks of the interbank forex market, a 25% increase in the average weekly trades compared to last month. “We have noticed a significant improvement since the launch of the interbank forex platform, with trades amounting to US$45 million over the past three weeks,” Mangudya told NewsDay yesterday. [/perfectpullquote]OK, so it is better.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Last month, the RBZ made the local currency legal tender and created an official foreign currency exchange market to enable companies to easily buy foreign currency from willing sellers due to acute foreign currency shortages in the market.[/perfectpullquote]Zimbabwe is doing better than it was. And yet:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] More pricing action means more business and this was confirmed today by the Bank of England’s semi-annual FX Turnover survey. The survey, compiled with the responses of 28 institutions in the London market in April, reveals that daily FX turnover during the month was $2,727bn (£2,075bn) – up 15% on October last year and up 14% on April last year. [/perfectpullquote]Just shows how trivially small Zimbabwe’s economy is, doesn’t it? One place boasts about $45 million in FX over three weeks, another does that in what, well, more than that in a second of a trading day? Shows how small Zimbabwe’s economy is. Well, thanks for that Bob, thanks a bunch.
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Just shows what Sino-Soviet communist racism can do to an economy. From breadbasket of Africa to dirt poor in a generation. People used to emigrate from Tanzania, Malawi etc to Rhodesia now they emigrate from Zimbabwe to their neighbours.
However it does work the other way. A country with no real advantages can,with the rule of law and a (moderately) capitalist system, flourish. Mnangagwa should get on the phone to Gaberone and ask how they do it.