If famous Zimbabwean Economist and government advisor is to be believed, there are no shortages of foreign currency in Zimbabwe. We used to have shortages but not anymore apparently. Now that’s just a bizarre thing to say.

We are no longer short of foreign exchange. In 2019, the fundamental reforms implemented under the Transitional Stabilisation Programme have given a huge boost to our export industries and official inflows of hard currency has exceeded our needs for the very first time in many years. My estimate is that total receipts this year will exceed US$7 billion while direct imports of all our essentials will only reach US$5,6 billion.

Eddie Cross speaking to Newsday recently

Don’t even know where to begin

I probably lack Mr Cross’s affinity for statistics however I know for certain a lof companies are struggling due to foreign currency shortages at the moment. For example, Schweppes Zimbabwe has not been making Mazoe for the past 3 weeks due to foreign currency issues.

Hospitals do not have essential medicines, roads are in a state of disrepair. There is a passport backlog of several hundred thousand due to lack of foreign currency. Fuel shortages, crippling power cuts, food shortages with the majority of Zimbabweans starving.

In fact, nothing is working Zimbabwe right now for Mr Cross to claim surpluses while we have all these economic issues due to foreign currency shortages is pretty bizarre indeed.

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