Business Leaders Chide Mthuli Ncube, Mangudya For Being Cocky

During a business breakfast meeting in Harare on Monday, business leaders rebuked Finance and Economic Development Minister, Mthuli Ncube, and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, John Mangudya for their failure to speak to the needs of the market.

Agribank chief economist, Joseph Mverecha said that Ncube exhibited confidence while things were going South. He said:

I wish I had the kind of confidence and exuberance you (Ncube) are showing but mine is lesser.

Firstly, I recall that a few months ago, you said that inflation is going to come down but it is not.

Former Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president, Luxon Zembe, chided Mangudya and Ncube for acting like politicians, saying businesspeople keep time. Said Zembe:

Firstly, let me just say that this is a business meeting and you (Ncube and Mangudya) arrived 45 minutes late. I am appealing to you that such conduct is reminiscent of politicians. In business, we keep time.

Minister, in your opening remarks, you are really doing a good job, but there is a phrase which worries me in your speech when you mention that ‘we doing well, what we are doing is good’ …

If you say ‘despite what you think’, it shows that you do not care about what we think and that’s not what we want because we are the stakeholders.

You will have to appreciate that confidence is a function, you may demand, you may pull and do whatever you want but it is earned.

It is a function of leadership and policy framework and Newton’s law is clear when it says that for every action there is a reaction.

Zembe accused Ncube and President Emmerson Mnangagwa of causing confusion by their penchant for ambushing markets. He added:

Only 24 hours before the coming in of the new currency, both you, the President Mnangagwa and Ncube are saying that the new currency will come before the end of March next year but within a day you came with the new currency and by so doing, you are creating confusion and uncertainty and you are failing to recognise that we are business and businesses operate on a cycle where we plan based on policies.

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