Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti absolutely torched the 2026 budget that Mthuli Ncube dropped, calling the whole thing unconstitutional and basically designed to squeeze money out of broke people. Biti says the plan claims Zimbabwe has a $52 billion economy when everyone living there knows that number is fake as hell, and the World Bank already confirmed 42% of the country was dealing with extreme poverty back in 2023.
The tax stuff is apparently brutal. VAT went up to 15.5%, and they added a 2% charge just for pulling out US dollars in cash. Biti thinks these changes punish regular people while the government hides a ton of debt and unpaid bills totaling over $2 billion. He pointed out that the Mutapa Investment Fund operates with zero accountability, and an IMF report already called for better transparency on how that money moves around.
The tax stuff is apparently brutal. VAT went up to 15.5%, and they added a 2% charge just for pulling out US dollars in cash. Biti thinks these changes punish regular people while the government hides a ton of debt and unpaid bills totaling over $2 billion. He pointed out that the Mutapa Investment Fund operates with zero accountability, and an IMF report already called for better transparency on how that money moves around.
