2019: A Balance of Good, Bad and Ugly
As the most devastating economic year since 2008 comes to a close, we recount the highlights, lowlights and the never-to-be-repeated events that took place in our Zimbabwe. Austerity for Prosperity was the fiscal theme song for the year. A polarising song it was – some adored its necessity, while others chastised its reality. However, what is not in contestation is that in 2019, Zimbabweans and government had to find creative and ingenious ways to dance to Mthuli Ncube’s tune and make a dollar stretch further than ever before. After all, no matter how bad the music may sound, no one wants to be the one on the dance-floor with two left feet. The Good: 1:1 became a thing of the past. While significant financial losses were made across the board when the bond note and USD parity became no more, significant losses were going to continue to be made had the status quo remained. In February 2019, almost 2 years after its birth, the bond note was finally given its rea...