

Brexit: A Letter from Mark Francois, Chairman of the ERG to Michel Barnier (26.06.2020)





Yesterday, the government unleashed a sudden new approach to the Mobile Money market. A market it has already overtaxed. The state is already struggling to launch a currency and keep the inflation down. The Financial Policies has been a train-wreck under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
They have at one moment … banned foreign currencies and later opened for it. They have revised the Bond-Notes. They have made a own special currency through the Mobile Money Banking, the infamous RTGS Dollar. Relaunched Zimbabwe Dollars, both coins and banknotes. While opening up again for US Dollars in trading.
All policies has been a back-and-fourth pin-pong game with no winner. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe looks dumber by every minute. The Ministry of Finance doesn’t seem up to par and the whole Cabinet Decisions Matrix to fix it. The state is juggling ideas and hoping none of the balls will fall. However, their hands are shaky, their forehead filled with sweat and the legs are tired. That is why its just a matter of mental fatigue before the balls falls all tumbling to the ground.
The Financial Policies of the Republic has gone bonkers, they are bananas and ridiculous. Its like a den of thieves are supposed to be accountable for the gold reserves. They are just waiting for the moment people are preoccupied to empty the national treasures and get rich quick.
Every move made hasn’t made it better. Except made things worse. Things costs more, salaries are not following the cost of living and incapacitation of civil servants are rampant. It is just like the state trying to figure out new methods to trick the system and hoping it is a free-for-all heist. While hoping no-one figuring that out.
There is no trust, there is no balance of powers and the measures made is for selfish reasons. The ZANU-PF doesn’t come with accountability or transparency as their policies are happening over night. The banks, the operators and the forex’s are never prepared. They are just liquidated or consolidated. These are just caught off guard with no forewarning.
The shops and the citizens are bamboozled too. The state is just shifting between the measures so quickly and without reason. In hope that they suddenly will find the magical bullet to kill the beast. However, they got no chance to beat it. Since they are walking blindly around and hoping sooner or later one of their ideas will stick.
We can anticipate more havoc from the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Because they are clearly not trying, but guessing. Hoping and praying that they will find the secret way into Narnia. They cannot find the closet or configure how to use the door-handle to open it. It is a challenge for them and we have to wait and see. Peace.







“Cash rules everything around me
CREAM, get the money
Dollar dollar bill, y’all” – Method Man on Wu Tang Clan’s – ‘C.R.E.A.M’ (1994)
I don’t know and I cannot count how many currency and monetary reforms that been since the launch of the New Dispensation from the Mnangagwa Government. What I do know? There’s been plenty and countless of initiatives in concern with the currency. Which was made to stabilize and supposed to ensure a steady rate in the inflation. However, that ship has sailed, as the rates are over double-digit and its not getting better.
The Zimbabwe government has stopped and reopened opportunities to have foreign currencies in trading. Today is not different. Just like a year ago in June they ceased to trade with United States Dollars. Today they are returning through bank action and able to show prices in Zimbabwe Dollars and US Dollars in the shops.
The return of this imminent. As the value of the Zimbabwe Dollars are depleting, the inflation is out whack. The money is getting devalued and destroyed. The state knows, the Reserve Bank knows this and the people know it too. This is not new, but the normal mockery of financial stimulus and fiscal responsibility, which causes this damage on a regular.
There is no trust in either the Ministry of Finance nor the Reserve Bank. All institutions are running a shit-show and hoping to trade insults to save their lives. They are all just pinning on duck and hoping it doesn’t quack. It is like an endless circle of Bond-Notes, RTGS-Dollar, Zimbabwe Dollar Notes and unattainable monetary polices in concern with the US Dollars.
In June 2019, the President proclaimed this: “ Except that if you want to transact in any shop, if you want to buy your tea and milk in dollar or euro, then you must go to bureau du change” (Mnangagwa, 25.06.2020).
Now a year later the opportunity to use US Dollars is back and the promise of “normalcy” is a far-cry from reality. As the state, the institutions and the men behind the monetary policies cannot figure out the trick of the trade. They don’t have the ability nor the slightest idea on how to stable the economy nor ensure any trust in the currency they are printing. It is like a gift of misgivings and lack of integrity.
The whole state could fix this, the men behind this could really try to do something. They should first quit their day-jobs, because they are not up for it. These people have tried and tried. Done so much work for nothing. They have been jibber-jabbing for so long without any luck.
So since nothing is working. We can all just put on the old classic Wu Tang Clan joint ‘C.R.E.A.M’ and sing: “Cash Rules Everything Around Me/Cream, get the money/Dollar Dollar Bill, Y’all”. Peace.

“The government department responsible for overseas aid is to be merged with the Foreign Office (FCO), the BBC understands. The move to combine the Department for International Development (DFID) and the FCO follows a review into UK aid spending by crossbench peer Lord Bew. Boris Johnson is expected to confirm the move, long mooted in Conservative circles, in the Commons later” (BBC.com – ‘International development and Foreign Office to merge’ 16.06.2020).
If your thinking the Little Britain is getting better on the world stage with the Tories in power. This sort of move is directly weaponizing foreign aid grants. Instead of having a separate department working on own terms to actually develop and make a difference. That is, if the ideal is to bring a change and making a difference.
This from the party that still clings on top the dreams and ideals of the greatness of the British Empire. An empire that is long gone and the powers of the United Kingdom has already dwindled. They will be even more weaken and lack soft powers internationally when they are finally left the European Union (EU).
The move is to replicate the Secretary of State in the United States. They are copying the mismanaged militarized state supported development schemes of the United States. That is not a good look. Especially, if the UK want to be serious actor on the world stage and look sincere in their motives. However this paradigm will be more of the political motivations at home and bring brownie points to the current leadership. Then actually make a change.
I don’t see any positive out of this, than they will make political moves instead of actually do what its supposed to do. We already knows there are strings to it and reasons for the development projects and aid. No money is free money, if you believe that. Then your lying to yourself and accepting money from someone. There will be something you need to do. If that is being accountable, prove the recites and that it actually was spent on intended projects. Hitting a set of goals and reach a set amount of people so the foreign donors can tell their tax-payers that it was worth giving this money away.
This is something we all know. If not … we are lying to ourselves and thinking the monies are giving away with naive intentions and can be used on ghosts without any fuzz. If it was so, then the donors would quit quickly and be hostile to continue the practice. There is a reason for certain measures and conditions for taking the aid and grants.
The DFID incorporated into the Foreign Office will only turn every move more political and the ambition of it will change. It will depend on whose in office and who is running the Foreign Office. That means the objectives will turn and will be what is benefiting foreign policy agenda. It will be more business oriented and towards the goals of the current leadership. Instead of being a supposed a long-term development tool in the world. It is not perfect, but at least have had some results and some positive use of its currency.
Now we can expect more political ambition behind the grants and the aid. It will be fitting with the additional pressure of the foreign office, instead of the concern of development or actually making a difference. Expect they will invest in a lot white elephants and waste as it fits the political agenda more than what is actually needed in the nation they are spending funds on.
That is my estimation of it. As well as they scrap a lot of projects, a lot of programs and participation as its not positive politically back-home. Even if it does something positive where these things are actually running day-to-day. Peace.



