Zimbabwe Finance Minister says country has turned the corner

Zimbabwe has now turned the corner and is now on its way to recovery, Finance Minister Mthulii Ncube said today.

In an article in the state-owed Herald, Ncube said even Zimbabwe’s staunchest critics had now taken notice of the country’s progress.

The recovery was reflected through budget surpluses, exports, increased local production, the reintroduction of the local currency and anticipated drop in inflation.

“We must of course recognise that these recent gains are not accidental, nor are they the result of good fortune,” he said.  “Instead, they are the outcome of the deep-rooted, long-term reform agenda we began to undertake almost three years ago.”

Below is the full article

‘The end of the beginning’

In November 1942, following the Second Battle of El Alamein in Egypt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood to address the House of Commons.

After three long years of war, characterised by difficulties and retreats, in which British forces were forced from continental Europe and from much of South-East Asia, Churchill was finally able to report that “we have a new experience. We have victory”.

In a speech that has gone down in history, he went on to tell the House that, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

In recent weeks, I have been reminded of this speech and the sentiment surrounding it. For looking at the state of the Zimbabwean economy of late, the signs are now clear that the worst is behind us.

We are moving forward. As Churchill said, this is not the end, nor is it the beginning of the end. But it is the end of the beginning.

This surge of optimism is of course, in part, driven by the arrival of coronavirus vaccines to our borders. It was a proud moment for us all to see our countrymen and women begin to be vaccinated last month, and we eagerly anticipate the arrival of the next batch of vaccines.

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