EDITORIAL COMMENT: Be wary of social media misinformation Dr John Mangudya
Dr Mangudya

Dr Mangudya

Zimbabwean economy is on a recovery trajectory buoyed by this season’s bumper harvest and the rebound of the mining sector much to the chagrin of the country’s detractors. The prophets of doom who have been predicting a total collapse of the economy which they hoped to ride on for their so called final push to effect regime change, are very frustrated by the turn of events.  

It is these desperate elements that are resorting to peddling falsehoods to confuse the people. The good rains received throughout the country have enabled most families to harvest enough to feed themselves so the tactic of using food handouts to persuade people to rebel against the establishment will not work this time.

We are therefore not surprised by the stepped up disinformation campaigns through social media meant to destabilise the economy which is on a recovery path. The latest social media fabrication that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is introducing higher bond notes denomination of up to $50 is just one example of the spirited campaigns meant to put spanners in the works.

The social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter were this week abuzz with reports that the central bank is introducing $10, $20 and $50 bond notes and that it is prohibiting the use of Master Card, Visa Card and Maestro outside the country.

The reports also claimed that the RBZ had rapped certain Government departments over failure to bank cash. The RBZ governor, Dr John Mangudya dismissed the reports as false and warned members of the public against being misled by such malicious reports. He said the statements were false and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.

Dr Mangudya said the statements were not only false but dangerous as they were calculated to cause alarm and despondency within the economy. He said they were also calculated to discredit Government and the central bank’s progressive efforts to stabilise the economy.

The individuals peddling the falsehoods, Dr Mangudya said, wanted to fuel chaos in the economy by targeting the sensitive financial sector. It is the same individuals who today want to purport to be the spokespersons of the central bank who campaigned vigorously for the rejection of bond notes but failed dismally. The success of the bond notes system has unnerved these enemies of Zimbabwe hence these desperate moves to disseminate false information meant to depict the economy in bad light.

Zimbabweans should be guided by official information released by the RBZ through official media. The thrust now, as we have said in the past, is to positively contribute to the growth of the economy taking advantage of the many policy interventions meant to boost the economy.

The solution to the cash shortage being experienced is for the country to increase exports and not to print bond notes. What is encouraging is that the bumper harvest the country is expecting, will guarantee raw materials to our agro-processing industries which should produce even surplus for export.

It is a fact that the country is spending a lot of money on food imports because what the manufacturing industries are producing now cannot meet demand.

Government has since last year been working on measures to enhance ease of doing business and a lot of ground has been covered so far.

We have every reason to conclude that the country is poised for an industrial boom given the positive indications on the ground. What is needed is for Government and the private sector to work together to revive our industries which have a great potential to produce not just for our consumption but even surplus for export.

 

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