×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

‘Poll results key to economic stability’

News
RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono says the country is in desperate need of a clear Presidential winner following yesterday’s harmonised elections to usher in a stable macro– economic environment.

RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono says the country is in desperate need of a clear Presidential winner following yesterday’s harmonised elections to usher in a stable macro– economic environment.

Report by Tarisai Mandizha

In a statement on Tuesday postponing the half-year Monetary Policy Statement announcement to sometime in August due to elections, Gono said the next six months would depend on the outcome of the polls.

Gono said the success of proposed measures in the policy statement would hinge on the outcome of the polls, adding that the economy desperately needed a “clear winner and a peaceful ending to the electoral processes” for it to stabilise and prosper.

“The next six months will to a very large extent depend on the outcome of the harmonised elections whose voting process is scheduled for July 31, 2013,” said Gono.

“Against this background, and with concurrence of the Minister of Finance, I hereby advise the market that a post-election Monetary Policy Statement will be issued on a date to be advised in August, 2013.

“Until then, banking sector players and all stakeholders should go about their business in the normal way, remembering that the saying ‘Peace begins with me; Peace begins with you and Peace begins with all of us’ must remain our Zimbabwean prayer during and after voting today.”

The governor last presented his monetary policy on January 31 this year.

A local advisory firm, MMC Capital, recently said the country’s economy was expected to slow down during the second half of the year due to political uncertainty and macro-economic risks confronting the economy.

In a quarterly equity market review for the period ending June, MMC Capital said the economic growth rate may miss the target partly triggered by political risks and lack of clarity on the indigenisation and empowerment regulations compelling foreign-owned companies to sell 51% stakes to locals.

“We are a bit bearish on the Zimbabwean economy in the second half of the year as far as growth is concerned. We expect a growth rate of at least 3,5% to be driven by mining and agriculture,” read the report in part.

MMC said despite the slowdown, year-end annual inflation was expected to be between 2% and 2,5% as local firms cash in on a weakening rand.