Parly summons Mthuli over rising inflation

Zim Now Writer

Legislators have summoned Finance and Economic Development Minister, Mthuli Ncube to explain what measures he was implementing to deal with rising inflation and stabilise the free-falling Zimbabwe dollar.

The Zimbabwe dollar, reintroduced in 2019, has been on a free-fall, igniting a rise in the cost of living as prices soar, in the process pushing more and more citizens into misery.

Currently, the Zimbabwe dollar is trading at between $2 500 and $2 700 to the greenback on the black market, a source of foreign currency for most Zimbabweans.

However, on Tuesday, legislators said Ncube had to be summoned to Parliament to explain.

Raising a point of national interest, Norton Legislator Temba Mliswa (Independent) said: “The current parallel market rate has gone up to $3 000 and the majority of our people have been affected.

“Can the Minister of Finance bring a supplementary budget with immediate effect as a result of rising inflation and a collapsing local currency?”

Harare East legislator Tendai Biti added: “I rise on the issue of illicit financial flows; 79% of our people are living in extreme poverty, surviving on less than US$1.25 a day yet this country is extremely rich.

“We have 64 minerals including lithium, gold and diamond but we have nothing to show for it. A billion dollars is lost illegally through smuggling.

“Can the minister come before this House to lay a roadmap of how he is going to deal with illicit financial flows, runaway parallel market rate and a forensic audit for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe because we cannot suffer from there source curse because a few individuals have decided to steal from this country,” Biti said.

Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda said: “The issue will be presented to the Minister of Finance.”