Skip to main content

Economic recovery in Zimbabwe ‘still difficult despite Mugabe resignation’


Economic recovery in Zimbabwe is still likely to be difficult even though Robert Mugabe has resigned as president, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute has told Public Finance International
Mugabe resigned by letter yesterday after 37 years in power following pressure from the public, the army and his party for him to step down. 
The resignation came amid turmoil in the country since the military took over last week in an attempt to root out “criminals” around the president and detained him and the finance minister Ignatius Chombo. 
The former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was sacked by Mugabe two weeks ago and fled to South Africa, is expected to return to Zimbabwe and be sworn in as the next president on Friday, according to the country’s state broadcaster.  
Judith Tyson, research fellow at the ODI’s international economic development group, said: “There is obviously great optimism for change in Zimbabwe tonight but it is not yet clear whether a reformist government will emerge, and if it does the pathway to economic renewal is still likely to be very difficult.”
She added that the government is “effectively bankrupt” and the economy “has been stripped of jobs”. These were both issues which should be a priority for the new government, she explained. 
“The renewal of international finance and private investment will take a credible reform process to be laid out and implemented,” she said. 
Robert Mugabe was at the age of 93 the world’s oldest leader until his resignation yesterday.
On television last week, the Zimbabwe major general Sibusiso Moyo, chief of staff logistics, said: “We are only targeting criminals around him [Mugabe] who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice”. 
The finance minister was a leading member of the so-called G40 faction of the ruling ZANU-PF party, which is led by Mugabe’s wife Grace.
The military said it expects the situation in Zimbabwe to “return to normalcy”, as soon as its “mission” was accomplished. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

List of IFRIC Interpretations

The IFRS Foundation provides free access (through Basic registration) to the PDF files of the current year's IFRIC ®  Interpretations (Part A of the Issued Standards—the Red Book), as well as available translations of Interpretations. This section also provides high level and non-technical summaries for the Interpretations.  The full Standards with all accompanying documents are available for  Premium subscribers on eIFRS . For more information about what is provided for free and why, visit our unaccompanied Standards FAQ page . Interpretation name IFRIC 1 Changes in Existing Decommissioning, Restoration and Similar Liabilities IFRIC 2 Members’ Shares in Co-operative Entities and Similar Instruments IFRIC 4 Determining whether an Arrangement Contains a Lease IFRIC 5 Rights to Interests arising from Decommissioning, Restoration and Environmental Rehabilitation Funds IFRIC 6 Liabilities arising from Participating in a S...

List of IFRS Standards

The IFRS Foundation provides free access (through Basic registration) to the PDF files of the current year's consolidated IFRS ®  Standards (Part A of the Issued Standards—the Red Book), the  Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting  and IFRS Practice Statements, as well as available translations of Standards. This section also provides high-level and non-technical summaries for the Standards. The full Standards with all accompanying documents are available for  Premium subscribers on eIFRS . For more information about what is provided for free and why, visit our  unaccompanied Standards FAQ page . Standard name Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards IFRS 2 Share-based Payment IFRS 3 Business Combinations IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations IFRS 6 Exploration for an...

IFRS FOUNDATION PUBLISHES CASE STUDY REPORT: BETTER COMMUNICATION—MAKING DISCLOSURES MORE MEANINGFUL

The IFRS ®  Foundation has published a case study report showing how companies from different parts of the world have improved communication in their IFRS financial statements.  Better Communication in Financial Reporting—Making disclosures more meaningful  contains six case studies from varied industries. Its aim is to illustrate how improvements can be made and inspire other companies to initiate their own improvement projects. The report explains the process these companies have gone through to improve disclosures in the notes to their IFRS financial statements and shows examples of the improvements made. By identifying what information is relevant, prioritising it appropriately and presenting it in a clear and simple manner, they have made their financial statements easier for investors to read and understand. Through the use of examples, the report shows that relatively small changes can significantly improve the quality of the financial information that compa...