2/17… the Mid-Year Review came at a time when the economy has been grappling with run away inflation and black market exchange rates. The foreign exchange market has serious distortions and structural and institutional failures all of which indicate a seriously bleak future ..

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

3/17… especially when it comes to price and foreign exchange stability.

Adding to this, there is unprecedented pressure from civil servants demanding a review of wages. They need to regain their purchasing power and earn an adequate income in light of the rising cost of living.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

4/17… The big expectations were restoration of confidence & implementation of a price & foreign exchange stabilisation strategy. @MthuliNcube admitted the impact of the current inflation & exchange instability by reviewing the budget by nearly 100% for revenue & expenditure.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

5/17… Another expected outcome of the Review was to determine government’s strategy for arresting the budget deficit and dealing with the debt burden. Instead, the Review failed to address these critical issues both in the short & long run.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

6/17… An expansionary budget approach purely motivated by inflationary collections cannot inspire sustainable development.

There is clear disregard of the major elements in the market, namely the currency question.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

7/17… The economy has self dollarised & institutions have debased their budgets to USD using the official exchange rate resulting in over priced services in USD.

The minister, @MthuliNcube was expected to make policy announcements about how government will address the chaos ..

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

8/17… in the foreign exchange market that is rapidly destabilising the economy.

A possible solution would have been to shift from ZWL as the base currency to USD so that the USD becomes the reporting currency.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

9/17… ZWL would then form part of the basket of currencies over a period of 3-5 yrs. This will restore stability, inspire growth & increase local production + eliminate distortions and should be followed up with a clear transitional strategy to our own currency.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

10/17… Furthermore, the preference by @MthuliNcube to suppress the wage bill and continue paying paltry salaries will only perpetuate our economic problems – as realistically – the burden can't be arrested by starving our nation’s workers.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

11/17… A wage led growth would have been a better policy option. Increasing wages leads to increased expenditure & investment, which in turn creates demand and results in economic growth. A key aspect of addressing wages is the intentional restoration of value and addressing ..

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

12/17… the need to adequately compensate the workforce.

The introduction of gold coins purely as a store of value doesn't in any way drive the performance of the economy or bring stability to the economy.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

13/17… The fact that gold coins are being purchased at a value that is almost 50% less in ZWL to USD using parallel market rates creates a big source of arbitrage and thuggery. This is clearly a pyramid scheme that will crash at the expense of those putting money into it.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

14/17.. It’s an elitist market, indicating a tacit admission that the ZWL is only a transactional currency, secondary to Forex.

Having set the path for dollarisation using SI118A @MthuliNcube was supposed to announce dollarisation or change of base currency.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

15/17… No incentives were preferred by @MthuliNcube to promote domestic production.

The Mid-Year review doesn't provide an inspiration for expansion of domestic growth.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

15/17… No incentives were preferred by @MthuliNcube to promote domestic production.

The Mid-Year review doesn't provide an inspiration for expansion of domestic growth.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

16/17… The minister, @MthuliNcube was very ambitious on the revised growth projections that contradict inflation projections and balance of payment performance.

We have serious challenges like unemployment, shrinking domestic growth and deteriorating social service delivery.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022

17/17… This was all supposed to be addressed & well articulated in the Review. Instead, the Review acknowledges the devastating effects of #Covid 19 and the current global crisis but fails to profer solutions to mitigate the shocks or protect the ordinary citizens of #Zimbabwe.

— Elisabeth Valerio (@PresValerio) August 3, 2022