Browsing: 2023 elections in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has relaxed regulations barring the importation of basic commodities to avert a shortage of goods. www.theexchange.africa

How Zimbabwe’s lifting of import ban is boosting exports

Industry and Trade
  • Zimbabwe has relaxed regulations barring importation of basic commodities to avert shortage of goods ahead of elections.
  • The move not only bolsters the domestic market but also improves Zimbabwe’s exports with SADC and China.
  • In March, South Africa emerged as Harare’s primary source of imports, contributing 37.6 percent of the total. China, Singapore, India, and Zambia followed accounting for 19.2 percent, 16.7 percent, 3.7 percent, and 3 percent respectively.

In a strategic move aiming to avert looming drought of essential goods ahead of 23 August 2023 elections, authorities in Harare have rolled out bold steps, relaxing rules that are choking the flow of Zimbabwe imports. The strategy further aims at countering escalating prices and ensuring smooth flow and access of essential goods in the country.

Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mthuli Ncube, has announced the complete elimination of import restrictions on basic goods. The initiative will be complemented …

Nigeria's presidential race nears its homestretch as elections draw closer

Will 2023 be a Win for Africa’s Democracy?

Premium

The elasticity of Africa’s democratic fabric will be tested in 2023, with high-stakes elections slated throughout the year. Across the continent, 24 countries are holding different polls in 2023. From national to local assembly elections, economies are forecast to experience minimal economic growth, to be compounded by effects of the Russian-Ukraine war. To boot, the respective currencies of these nations are forecast to continue depreciating against the dollar, amplifying inflationary pressures in tandem driving up dollar denominated prices of imports. This already has created a daunting ‘dollar doom loop’ quagmire, that has hitherto left a trail of devastation not only among these nations, but across the world, further retrogressing economic activities.

The state of Africa’s democracy was concerning in 2022, due to the resurgence of unconstitutional takeovers by military coups. Burkina Faso experienced two takeovers. There were failed coup attempts in Guinea Bissau, The Gambia, and the island nation of …