Zimbabwe’s MDC Alliance says under it the country could have $100bn economy
Opposition leader launches election manifesto saying the country could have a thriving economy by 2029 if hurdles to business and agriculture are removed
Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party, the MDC Alliance, led by Nelson Chamisa, on Thursday launched its election manifesto in Harare with a pledge to turn the nearly-comatose economy into a $100bn one by 2029. The economy, which has contracted sharply over the past 20 years, hard-hit by sanctions, flight by foreign investors and most recently by a severe foreign-currency squeeze that has left companies on their last legs, has emerged as the central battleground for the political parties that will take part in the July 30 general election. The policy, dubbed Sustainable and Modern Agenda for Real Transformation (SMART) proposes joining the Rand Monetary Union as a measure to stop the cash crisis that is now running into its third year. John Robertson, an economist and founder of Robertson Economics, however, said the adoption of the rand as a currency without productivity in Zimbabwe would be a short-lived policy. It was not as clever as it sounded. “The first task is to boost industr...
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