Zimbabwe has announced the discovery of oil wells in Muzarabani, north of the country.
The country’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa made the announcement on Thursday at a media briefing.
He said that the discovery was made in partnership with the Australian energy company Invictus. In a statement president Mnangagwa said its still too early to know the impact the discovery will have on the economy.
The statement said oil wells will be sunk in 2020. Zimbabwe can only know the potential of this new sector once commercial drilling begins.
Zimbabwe’s economy has for years been in a bad state. Foreign sanctions have also played their part in crippling the economy.
Today President @edmnangagwa held a press conference were he announced the discovery of oil and gas deposits in Muzarabani by Invictus Energy. He said the company will realise its plans to sink an exploration well by mid 2020 #TSP #Vision2030 pic.twitter.com/uwvEl1M3ff
— Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting (@InfoMinZW) November 1, 2018
President Mnangagwa last month blamed the crisis partly on “wanton illicit currency deals happening in what is known as the black market.”
President Mnangagwa promised to restore the economy back on track but doesn’t seem to have gotten the solutions yet.
Please find the attached statement from the President @edmnangagwa #TSP #Vision2030 pic.twitter.com/6uMNH9yo6Z
— Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting (@InfoMinZW) November 1, 2018
The local currency in theory has the same value as the US dollar. It has been in free fall in recent weeks, raising fears of a return to the hyper-inflation that wrecked national finances in 2009.
Current economic crisis has prevented most shops from stocking their shelves. This is due to panic buying with fast food chains also announcing a halt in their businesses.
The government has introduced taxes on electronic transactions while battling shortage of fuel. A two-cents, tax for every dollar of electronic payments was introduced last month.
Source: Africafeeds.com
