Harare — Zimbabwe’s central bank governor sought to reassure the public on Saturday as people again formed long queues to fill up their cars in Harare. Others were panic-buying basic goods such as cooking oil and sugar. The panic has been caused by recent changes introduced by the government and a worsening US dollar crunch, but governor John Mangudya said that people should not be worried and he expected an improvement in 48 hours. "The problem is that we did not explain things. This economy is a sentiment-driven economy so we need to communicate more with the society," he said. Zimbabwe adopted the US dollar in 2009, but a shortage of cash dollars has worsened after a disputed election won by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in July. Fuel queues started building up last week and on Saturday outlets in Harare had either run out or had long queues as drivers waited.

At some outlets owned by Total, attendants served only motorists with prepaid cards. Other outlets refused mobile pa...

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