tawandamusarurwa
Nelson Gahadza
Business has said a peaceful post-election period will be conducive for continued stability, which is critical for business and economic growth.
This comes as the country holds the general elections on Wednesday. The period to the election day has been largely peaceful, while the economy witnessed stability stemming from Government measures to address inflation and exchange rate volatility.
President of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Mr Mike Kamungeremu said post-election violence would undermine the country’s economic growth.
“Our expectation as business is that after the elections, peace will prevail and we hope that as quickly as possible, all the electoral processes are done so that we get back to business as usual,” he said.
Mr Kamungeremu said ZNCC is aware of some businesses that have adopted a wait-and-see approach on business and investments, hence there is need for all electoral processes to be done early to return to business unhindered.
“We also expect the current stability, monetary-wise, which we have witnessed within the economy to also continue post-election and in that regard, we urge the Government that whoever is going to be the Finance minister should ensure the current stability is not disturbed by continuing to pursue a tighter monetary stance and also monitor money supply growth in the economy.
“At the same time, we urge them to strike a balance between managing liquidity and injecting what is enough for business to continue,” he said.
“We hope the interventions that we witnessed and enjoyed were not targeted only for an election but should continue afterwards so that the targets we have set for growth in 2023 and beyond are achieved,” he said.
The Government recently announced that the economy will grow by 5,3 percent this year, supported by agriculture, mining, information and communications technology (ICT) and manufacturing.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) President Mr Kurai Matsheza said industry expects a stable macroeconomic environment that allows businesses to
thrive.
“We expect, as industry, macroeconomic stability where the rate is stable, inflation low and commodities available,” he said.
He said industry should also be able to access working capital and make payments to offshore suppliers.
Economist Mr Victor Bhoroma said there should be a situation where there is fiscal discipline in the Government to ensure the expenditure falls below the taxable revenues so that it does not need to borrow locally or in foreign markets in order to meet non-core expenditures.
He added that at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, they should ensure positive interest rates, ensure money supply growth is in line with economic growth and avoid quasi-fiscal operations.
“The Government will not be changing its current monetary policy stance in the next two to six months. They now know how corrosive unchecked money supply growth has on inflation and the exchange rate, so I suppose the next two months’ eyes are on the ball to ensure stability, even on prices.
According to Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube, the budget remains on course to achieve the desired fiscal deficit target of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product by year-end.
FBC Securities, in a recent report, said in view of the upcoming elections and uncertainty around Government expenditures, the authorities’ continued commitment to a tight monetary policy remains key to restoring and sustaining exchange rate and inflation stability.
Online Reporter