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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 50899, member: 636"] Zimbabwe claims it became the fifth-largest economy in Southern Africa after officials rebased the country's GDP from 35.2 billion to 44.4 billion US dollars. The government says per capita income will reach 3,000 dollars by 2025 and the economy will achieve upper middle-income status by 2030. Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti blasted the figures as complete fiction and called the rebasing a fraudulent political ritual. He accused officials of creating fake numbers while millions of Zimbabweans struggle with poverty, hunger, unemployment and hyperinflation. Biti says the economy actually shrunk over the past five years due to factory closures, power shortages and currency problems. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube defended the rebased figures and said they followed international best practices. He explained the numbers included informal traders, small manufacturers and emerging businesses that officials previously missed. Ncube claimed the larger GDP base creates more opportunities to service external debt and grow tax revenues. The minister admitted ongoing inequality but said progressive taxation and social protection programs help poorer citizens. He promised new digital systems would bring more players into the formal economy. The revised ranking puts Zimbabwe behind South Africa, Angola, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Critics argue the inflated numbers ignore harsh realities like cash shortages, informal employment and struggling hospitals. Government officials maintain they are modernizing data systems and formalizing the economy. The rebasing controversy highlights the gap between official statistics and daily life for ordinary Zimbabweans. [/QUOTE]

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