HARARE East legislator Tendai Biti told Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube Wednesday to stop pretending to ignorant about the causes of hyperinflation in the country and why the government was failing to control the challenge.
The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) MP told parliamentarians on Wednesday that printing of Zimbabwe dollars to pay cartels in the construction industry was fuelling inflation.
“We know what is driving inflation and, as he knows, it is the trillions of dollars being paid in cartels constructing roads and cartels that are coming from the auction floor,” Biti said.
Last month the government effectively acknowledged the problem by suspending payments to contractors with Finance Ministry permanent secretary George Guvamatanga accusing the companies of submitting invoices of cash for goods and services using parallel market rates.
The US dollar has been changing hands for between Z$700 and Z$800, more than 40% higher that the official Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) rate.
“Such pricing framework by the suppliers of goods and services, have not only been causing inflationary pressures but also parallel market activities,”
