The leader of Zimbabwe main opposition party, Nelson Chamisa, alighted from his car, grabbed a microphone and made a bold promise to scrap bond notes if he wins the July 30 presidential election to stem the worsening cash shortages and liquidity crunch, AllAfrica reported. The intensifying cash shortages have been a major issue on the campaign trail in the first vote since Robert Mugabe’s downfall in November after 37 years in power, with new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his chief opponent, Chamisa, making lavish promises to address the liquidity crisis. Mnangagwa has promised “improved access to cash” when he wins the presidential election, with his rivals and critics asking why he does not just address the cash shortages now. The 75-year-old former security chief known as Ngwena or “The Crocodile”—who ascended the throne through a soft coup—has said he has injected millions of United States dollars into the market to ease the problem, but the cash is being “sponged” out.
