May 2019
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
retaliated by throwing stones and police then fired live bullets at the mob. A vendor was shot
on the back and sustained serious injuries.
The economy is spiralling out of control and it is fast becoming apparent that government does
not have a clear plan to a lasting positive solution. On 20 May the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Governor Dr John Mangudya announced that the procurement of fuel by the Oil Marketing
Companies (OMCs) will be done through the interbank foreign exchange market’ and not 1:1
as was previously the case. The move, meant to counter those who were abusing the facility
also seeks to match the parallel market rate as the interbank was dominated by buyers and a
few sellers.
The rapid manner with which the RTGS dollar has lost value means that retailers are fast losing
value in the ‘local’ currency and opting to price their goods in US Dollars, a de-facto
dollarisation. Sadly, the majority of citizens are still earning RTGS currency whose value is
lost almost on a daily basis and further straining them. Conversely, local producers will likely
find the going tough as their products will be priced higher than imports and fail to compete.
This means further job losses in the long run. Citizens’ woes are exacerbated by rolling
electricity blackouts that have intensified in May, further escalating production costs making
life difficult for ordinary folk wading in the quagmire of fuel shortages and stiff gas prices
often pegged in US Dollars.
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