Zimbabwe president doubles the petrol price

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

In 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 in recent weeks.

The president left Zimbabwe yesterday on a trip that will end with his attendance at the World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland, angering critics who say he should stay at home to deal with the crisis.

Petrol shortages comes as the country battles its worst economic crisis in a decade due to a shortage of foreign currency.