Cyclone Idai devastated the north-eastern part of Zimbabwe as well as Beira in Mozambique. Its impact exposed the weakness of the Zimbabwe economy and its government resources, and at the same time demonstrated the resilience of civil society to give practical solidarity.

The recent Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe decision to combine all Bond Notes, Bond Coins and E Cash under the umbrella of “RTGS Dollars”, to set the exchange rate against the US dollar at 2.5:1, and allow it to float, is the most significant economic initiative of the Mnangagwa government.

Underlying the sense of doom in Zimbabwe is the ongoing conflict between ousted President Mugabe and current President Mnangagwa. The economy and therefore the basic living conditions of the people can only go backwards while the struggle between these two forces works itself out.

The MDC Alliance and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions late last week called for a “stay-away” of two, three and five days this week to peacefully demonstrate to the ZANU-PF Mnangagwa government that its economic policies had to change – mainly relating to fuel shortages, the use of Bond Notes and the need to pay workers in US dollars.

Finance Secretary Mthuli Ncube presented the new state Budget on November 22, which can only be described as a harsh austerity budget, tempered only by the promise to pay the 13th month pay within the financial year, a big improvement on past years. Some of the austerity is good – cutting wages to ghost state employees.