Search

Importers abandon merchandise as duty payments soar
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwean importers were caught off guard last week after customs duty payments went up by almost 6,700% following the floatation of Zimbabwe's domestic currency on the official market. 12 May 2008 14:00

Cash shortages on first day of currency floatation
Cash shortages in Zimbabwe worsened Monday, 5 May, on the first day of free trading of the Zimbabwe dollar as people queued for hours in banks to buy up local currency. 6 May 2008 16:51

Reserve Bank unveils Z$250 million note
Zimbabwe's central bank, currently grappling with record-breaking inflation, has introduced a new high-denomination bank note of a quarter of a billion dollars, state television reported Monday, 5 May 2008. 6 May 2008 16:31

Exchange rates tumble after RBZ currency floatation
Exchange rates on the black market tumbled Thursday and Friday after Wednesday's announcement by the central bank that it was to float the Zimbabwe dollar. 5 May 2008 10:07

Inflation soars to 165,000%
Zimbabwe's annual rate of inflation soared to an all-time high of almost 165,000% in February, according to the latest government statistics obtained Wednesday, 16 April 2008. 18 Apr 2008 11:07

Zim manufacturing sector crisis escalates; govt issues ultimatum
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector is tottering on the brink of an unprecedented crisis due to alleged government threats and non-payment of critical foreign currency receipts from exports. 18 Apr 2008 06:30

Fear grips Zimbabwe's manufacturing and retail industries
[Dumisani Ndlela] Consumer products manufacturers are battling to distance themselves from high commodity prices on the market, fearing a fresh clampdown by President Robert Mugabe's regime. 16 Apr 2008 12:09

It's the economy stupid!
[Lance Mambondiani] The recent Zimbabwean elections have generated unprecedented excitement for many stakeholders as a defining moment for the future of Zimbabwe. 9 Apr 2008 11:57

Mugabe loses control of parliament
In an upset that could see an end to the policies that have all but destroyed the country's economy, ZANU-PF, the party that has held power since Zimbabwe won its independence from Britain in 1980, has lost control of parliament - according to official election results - and its leader, Robert Mugabe, is facing defeat at the presidential polls the opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claimed on Wednesday. 3 Apr 2008 06:56

Shops scared to sell until after vote
Some shops in Zimbabwe have stopped selling their merchandise until after this weekend's presidential and parliamentary elections, state media reported on Tuesday, 25 March 2008. 27 Mar 2008 11:46

Zimbabweans become hunters and gatherers
[Dumisani Ndlela] There is a general weariness in the eyes of John Manyaradzwa, who recently lost his job as a clerk with a manufacturing company in Harare. 25 Mar 2008 12:55

Mugabe admits food crisis, but price hikes are 'undermining govt'
Zimbabwe is seeking to rush in maize imports from southern African states. President Robert Mugabe told an election rally on Wednesday, 5 March 2008, that the country faced an emergency. 7 Mar 2008 12:06

Now Zimbabweans have to queue to queue
[Mary Revesai] A study conducted in the United States more than a decade ago estimated the cost to the American economy of alcohol abuse and alcoholism at US$246 billion. With queuing having become an almost enforced addictive activity in Zimbabwe, where ordinary people spend hundreds of hours in queues to do things that are routine in other countries such as shopping, depositing or withdrawing money from the bank etc, it would be interesting to quantify its impact on productive pursuits. 26 Feb 2008 15:33