HARARE – Former finance minister and opposition CCC top politician Tendai Biti has warned of further economic “disaster” if President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration takes the BRICS bait to dump the US dollar for an alternative currency.
BRICS is an acronym denoting emerging national economies’ bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Zimbabwe has applied to join BRICS which recently accepted the membership of six oil-producing nations that control 42 percent of the global oil supply Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
BRICS is currently seeking to put an end to the US dollar hegemony by introducing an alternative gold-backed international reserve currency.
Biti said that Mnangagwa’s plans to de-dollarise in order to align with BRICS’ philosophy would be disastrous as Zimbabwe does not have the requisite conditions to dump the US dollar.
“The regime is intent on de-dollarization. This move will be an absolute disaster and will cost workers and pensioners.
“Conditions for de-dollarisation don’t exist.
“Move is a zany attempt to follow the global de-dollarization agenda being pursued by BRICS and other new world order advocates,” Biti said.
Zimbabwe, plagued by a fragile and volatile domestic currency, uses a multi-currency system which is anchored by much-preferred US dollar.
Over the years, the Zimbabwean dollar has been buffeted by endless inflation, institutional corruption and effects of general lack of investor confidence in the Zanu PF-led administration.
Some financial analysts predict an imminent massive depreciation of the local currency in both the official exchange rate and black market when the government unfreezes its outstanding payments to contractors.
