Professor Mthuli Ncube received the award for “Best African Finance Minister” at a ceremony held in England on 8 and 9 December, while the country faces steep economic difficulties.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, was voted “Best African Finance Minister” among 100 other personalities at the Reputable Banks and Fintech Awards ceremony.
The awards ceremony, organized by Global Reputation Forum, was an initiative of Reputation Poll International, a global management company known for compiling lists of the 100 most reputable personalities, the 100 most reputable Africans, and the 50 most reputable bank CEOs.
The annual event, which provides a platform for fintech start-ups and established banking institutions to showcase their latest innovations, also brings together experts from the financial and technology sectors at London’s Marriott County Hall.
Speaking at the event, Reputation Poll International chairman Lord John Waverly said: “In today’s rapidly evolving financial landscape, the convergence of technology and banking has given rise to a new era of financial management challenges and the Zimbabwean minister, with a shoe-string budget, managed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to state-owned Zimbabwean media The Herald.
“What a joke!”
However, many Zimbabweans don’t share the same opinion. Award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono voiced his disapproval on X, explaining that “Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister who manages the worst economy in the world by inflation rate standards is named best African Finance minister. It turns out the organisation that gave him the award is as bogus as his economy.”
Steve Hanke, renowned economics professor at John Hopkins University, said: “Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has been named the Best African Finance Minister of the Year. What a joke. Today, I accurately measure Zimbabwe’s inflation at 943% per year. That’s the highest in the world.”
A recent Bloomberg article reported that consumer prices rose by 21.6% in November compared with the previous month, compared with 17.8% a month earlier, according to data reported by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency. An increase of 2 US dollars per kilowatt-hour in electricity tariffs in November probably contributed to this rise.
Zimbabwe’s economy has been struggling for decades. The Zimbabwean dollar was withdrawn in 2009 after inflation reached a staggering 231 million percent. Critics blame mismanagement by the ruling Zanu-PF party, first under Robert Mugabe and then under Mr Mnangagwa. The sanctions imposed by Western countries are also blamed.
According to World Bank data, although extreme poverty in Zimbabwe has fallen since peaking in 2020, it remains high in the context of cyclical agricultural production and rising food prices.
Persistent inflation, heavy dependence on low-productivity agriculture, slow structural transformation and intermittent shocks such as drought, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to Zimbabwe’s high levels of poverty and vulnerability. The country’s high level of debt continues to limit its fiscal space and growth potential.
