Zim on knife-edge as fuel prices double

Zimbabwe’s president has more than doubled the price of fuel, hoping the increase will end severe shortages that are fuelling public anger even as he departs on a foreign trip in search of investment.

At a press conference on Saturday night, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the increase in the state-controlled price of fuel should ease the shortages that have gripped the country. The president left Zimbabwe yesterday on a trip that will end with his attendance at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, angering critics who say he should stay at home to deal with the crisis.

The fuel shortages highlight that Zimbabwe is battling its worst economic crisis in a decade due to a severe shortage of foreign currency.

A video on social media shows a long line of cars along a roadside as what appears to be Mnangagwa’s presidential convoy, escorted by motorcycles, zips past.

The fuel crisis is just part of Zimbabwe’s economic decline under Mnangagwa, who briefly inspired hope after taking over from Robert Mugabe with the help of the military in November 2017.

Mocking Mnangagwa’s campaign slogan: “Zimbabwe is open for business”, one motorist drew laughter from others in line by shouting: “Zimbabwe is closed for business!”