Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube is in the process of presenting his 2020 mid-term budget and as part of his presentation he has been highlighting how much the Zimbabwean economy has lost as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also does not help that this pandemic came hot on the heels of a drought and cyclone. When pervasive corruption, policy inconsistence and sanctions it is a wonder that we still have an economy.

Some of the most affected sectors of the economy include hotels that saw a shocking 90% drop in occupancy rates, the finance sector that saw an increase in non-performing loans and manufacturing industries that were forced to shutdown. Businesses were also forced to pause operations, with some still not operating resulting in them laying off their workers, depressing demand and accelerating the recession.

The manufacturing sector paints a sad picture