The Fight Inequality Alliance (FIA) Zimbabwe is mobilising Zimbabweans to sign a petition calling for economic policies that address rising living costs, which it plans to present at a global meeting of finance ministers in Bangkok, Thailand, in October.
The petition forms part of a global campaign by the Fight Inequality Alliance, which is calling for economic policies that address the needs of poor and working-class people amid rising living costs.
Thailand will host the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in Bangkok from 12 to 18 October, bringing together finance ministers, central bankers and other officials.
FIA Zimbabwe national coordinator Nqobizitha Mlambo said the petition would be presented to finance ministers meeting alongside the IMF, World Bank and other international financial institutions.
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“This is a petition that will take to Bangkok, Thailand in October, where all ministers of finance will be meeting to discuss and determine policies that will affect us here at home because they’ll be meeting the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other global lenders to discuss fiscal policy, to discuss monetary policy, to discuss debt policy which affects us here, back home,” he said.
The alliance is urging Zimbabweans to sign the petition through its website, arguing that decisions made by international financial institutions have a direct bearing on livelihoods in Zimbabwe.
Mlambo said the campaign aimed to present millions of signatures collected globally to finance ministers.
“So we are going to submit the millions of signatures globally to those ministers of finance so that they know that the global poor, the suffering people are saying, include policies that speak to the material needs of the people and address the cost of living crisis,” he said.
The campaign comes as households in Zimbabwe face rising costs, with Mlambo attributing the pressure to a combination of global economic conditions and domestic policy decisions.
He cited austerity measures, taxation, public debt, unemployment and rising out-of-pocket healthcare costs among the factors contributing to the cost-of-living crisis.
“In Zimbabwe, the cost of living has not only gone up because of the runway, for instance, but also because of the policy choices that we have made as a country. Since 2017, we have implemented very strict and harsh austerity policies,” Mlambo said.
He said austerity measures had increased the tax burden on poor and working people while wages had failed to keep pace with inflation.
“These austerity policies have increased, number one, individual taxes as well as presumptive taxes targeting mostly the poor and vulnerable and the working people in our country. Resultingly, wages and salaries no longer make sense because as the cost of living due to inflationary pressures has gone up, wages have remained stagnant as we are in austerity period,” he said.
Mlambo also cited Zimbabwe’s public debt as a factor limiting government’s fiscal space to invest in economic development and job creation.
“Number two, we are highly indebted as a country. That also contributes to our cost-of-living crisis. In what way? If you’re highly indebted and your public debt is too much, there’s little fiscal space for the government to spend on capital expenditure and the reindustrialisation of the country,” he said.
He said limited employment opportunities further increased the pressure on households.
“As a result, most people are out of employment because deindustrialisation is linked to public debt. If you are unemployed, you don’t have money to spend and the cost of living affects you massively,” he said.
Mlambo also raised concerns about healthcare costs, arguing that many Zimbabweans have to pay for medical care from their own pockets.
“Thirdly, the cost of living therefore goes to the pockets of each and every Zimbabwean in the sense that health care is in a terrible state,” he said.
“In our country, the statistics indicate that 90% of Zimbabweans are not on medical health insurance or medical cover, what we call medical aid. It therefore means that each and every person of that 90 percent of our population is to fork out money from their pockets, what you call out-of-pocket expenditure to finance public health care needs which are supposed to be funded by the state in accordance with section 76 of our Constitution.”
The Fight Inequality Alliance was formed in 2016 and has campaigned on issues including debt justice and tax justice.
FIA Zimbabwe is now seeking public support for the petition ahead of the October meetings, arguing that ordinary people should have a voice in international economic policy discussions that affect their livelihoods.
The alliance is calling on Zimbabweans to sign the petition and join its global campaign on the cost of living.
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