The Citizens Coalition for Change {CCC} has challenged President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent earth shaking economic policy announcements, in which he suspended all financial institutions from lending.
On Saturday, Mnangagwa announced a cocktail of measures insisting that they were designed to “stabilise and restore confidence to the economy.”
On Monday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) ordered banks to take heed of Mnangagwa’s announcement and threatened to take action against non-compliant banks.
Addressing journalists in Harare today, CCC spokesperson Advocate Fadzai Mahere said Mnangagwa is “not in touch with the reality of commerce”. Quipping that Zimbabweans needed a new government and must choose her party at the 2023 general elections.
“What Mr. Mnangagwa demonstrated on the 9th of this month is that he has no care what so ever for the welfare of citizens. He is not in touch with the reality of commerce in Zimbabwe and so we call everyone that what we need to solve all these is to install a government that serves the people not just a few,” she said.
Meanwhile, United Kingdom-based lawyer Alex Magaisa also waged into the issue, arguing that Mnangagwa’s decree had no legal foundation and thus there is no law compelling banks to comply with such measures.
“This is a shameful document by Zimbabwe’s central bank. Since it knows the decree has no legal foundation it distances itself by calling it a ‘Presidential Announcement’.
“There is no legal instrument under Zimbabwe’s laws called a ‘Presidential Announcement’.
“He could have used the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act even if that would still be controversial. But no, he couldn’t be bothered.
“And here the central bank colludes in the lawbreaking by purporting to enforce the illegal decree. But the pliant banks will oblige,” he said.
