By John Mhazo

Former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon Gono has said that Zimbabwe is in a state of crisis.

Gono made the above remarks in an interview with the Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Trevor Ncube yesterday in Sandton, South Africa.

“We are a nation in crisis let’s not deny that. We can only deny that in power and in private spaces but that will be intellectual dishonesty,” he said.

Contrary to Gono’s individual sentiments, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe. However, President Mnangagwa has reiterated that the country owes its misfortunes to decades of sustained illegally imposed sanctions by the West.

Political analyst, Elton Ziki who spoke to this publication dismissed Gonos’ remarks as ahistorical and a show of intellectual amnesia by the former policy maker.

“The country is not in crisis as the former RBZ governor is preaching. Why is Gono suddenly forgetting that even during his hay days as RBZ governor, Zimbabwe’s economy struggled because of the debilitating effects of Western sponsored illegally sanctions on Zimbabwe.

The ushering in of the new dispensation in 2017 has witnessed President Mnangagwa openly speaking and taking a stance against corruption, opening up the country to investors, rebuilding Zimbabwe’s relationship that had been tainted by the old regime with global powers and creating a business environment that stakeholders are confident in.  

The business market is also responding positively to these policies as witnessed by how the local currency is showing positive signs of recovery and stability against the American dollar.

For the second week running, the Zimbabwean dollar has gained strength by $0.60c against the USD, trading at $82.70 yesterday from $83.32 last week on the Foreign Currency Auction Floor.

This has had a ripple effect on the stability and decline of prices of basic and commodities in shops which had gone beyond the reach of many citizens.