Many Zimbabweans have been left in astonishment after Mthuli Ncube was named “Best African Finance Minister of the Year” despite the country’s economic turmoil.
Economists say Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is as high as 85%.
One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, said the award was “akin to applauding a captain for steering a ship straight into an iceberg”.
Another user called it “the greatest joke of the decade”.
According to the Reuters news agency, up to 80% of transactions are carried out in US dollars because of a lack of confidence in the local currency.
Reputation Poll International – an organisation that says it “manages reputations” – gave Mr Ncube the award on Sunday.
The minister, who was appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2018, told the state-controlled Herald newspaper that he was delighted to receive the honor, adding that it was recognition of the work he and the Treasury team had done that has “spearheaded the transformation of the economy”.
However, activist Hopewell Chin’ono said on X that the award was an “insult” to Zimbabweans.
He expressed incredulity especially after Mr Ncube’s recent budget, that Mr Chin’ono dubbed “the most anti-people national budget that Zimbabwe has ever had”.
Mr Chin’ono added that Mr Ncube was “presiding over the worst economy in the world” brought about by his “misguided and corrupt policies”.
Zimbabwe’s economy has been struggling for decades. The Zimbabwe dollar was withdrawn in 2009 after inflation reached a staggering 231 million per cent, meaning prices were changing by the hour.