ON Thursday, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube presented what he claimed was a set of measures designed to lift Zimbabweans out of poverty.
But as has become the pattern in recent years, what was packaged as relief turned out to be yet another sleight of hand — a fiscal illusion that shifts the burden without solving the problem.
By cutting the intermediated money transfer tax (IMTT) by 0,5% and simultaneously increasing value-added tax (VAT) by the exact same margin to 15,5%, Ncube did not create relief, he merely rearranged the pain.
He took from the left hand and placed the burden squarely on the right.
It was economic theatrics — a policy shuffle meant to appear progressive while preserving the same extractive logic that has long punished the poor.
This is the classic game of illusion: boast about reducing one tax while quietly raising another that affects more people, more deeply and more frequently.
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For a government that frequently talks about cushioning the vulnerable, it is a move that exposes a worrying disconnect between policy rhetoric and lived reality.
And make no mistake — this decision hits the poor hardest.
While the IMTT mostly affects those transacting in the banking system, VAT is unavoidable.
It is paid by everyone, regardless of class, whenever they buy goods or services.
The moment VAT rises, prices rise.
Manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers — all will naturally pass on the increased cost to the consumer.
And for the ordinary citizen who survives on less than a dollar a day, this is not just an inconvenience. It is a threat to survival.
Zimbabweans are already trapped in a vicious cycle where wages do not match the cost of living, where formal employment has shrunk and where inflation — in whatever currency is fashionable this year — quietly erodes whatever little families manage to earn.
Increasing VAT in such a fragile environment is almost reckless.
It is akin to playing Russian roulette with the livelihoods of millions.
The minister’s decision also highlights a deeper, structural problem: an economic philosophy that continually asks the poor to carry the nation’s fiscal burden while shielding the politically connected and wealthy from meaningful contribution.
Instead of expanding the tax base through formalisation, economic growth, industrial revival or plugging leakages, government keeps turning to the same exhausted group — the struggling masses.
It is unfair. It is unsustainable. And it is morally questionable.
The irony is painful. Zimbabwe is a country rich in natural resources, from minerals to agricultural potential, yet the wealth does not translate into broad-based prosperity.
Billions are lost yearly through illicit financial flows, smuggling, tax evasion and opaque contract deals, yet the solution proposed is always the same: squeeze the poor a little more.
If government were sincere about addressing poverty, it would prioritise social protection systems, invest in job creation, stabilise the currency and fight corruption in a serious and transparent manner.
It would target sectors where real revenue can be collected — mining, fuel, high-end exports — instead of continually dipping into the pockets of citizens already teetering on the edge.
Zimbabweans are tired.
They are exhausted from carrying the weight of policy experiments that never solve anything.
They are tired of being told to tighten their belts while those in power loosen theirs.
They are tired of austerity dressed up as reform.
A tax system should not be a weapon. It should not be a gamble.
And no responsible government should play Russian roulette with the lives of its citizens.
Zimbabwe deserves better — and so do its people.