“They’re Lying To You” – Tendai Biti Scoffs At Zimbabwe’s $3,000 Income Claim After GDP Rebase
Zimbabwe has declared itself the fifth-largest economy in Southern Africa, boasting a rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$44.4 billion and a projected per capita income of US$3,000 (approximately R55,000) by 2025. But former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has ridiculed the claim, calling it a “fraudulent political ritual” disconnected from the painful realities of ordinary Zimbabweans. The outspoken politician has accused the government of peddling “fiction” in a bid to prop up the illusion of economic progress.
‘A fraudulent political ritual done outside science’
The GDP revision, which saw Zimbabwe’s economy leap from US$35.2 billion to US$44.4 billion, has been touted as an overdue adjustment that now includes informal sector activities and businesses previously uncounted in economic records. However, Biti has rejected the figures outright, taking to social media to express his outrage.
“It is clear as a pike staff that the present rebasing of Zim economy to $44.3 b is a fraudulent political ritual done outside science & data,” he posted on X on 10 July 2025.
“A shameful self-serving ego trip done to justify the myth & fiction that Zim is on course to achieve upper middle-income status by 2030.”
Biti said the claims of Zimbabwe’s Gross National Income (GNI) reaching US$2,893 and heading for US$3,000 per capita were not only misleading but deeply insulting.
“To millions of suffering Zimbabweans trapped in deep poverty, hunger, unemployment, hyperinflation & drug-free hospitals, to suggest that their lot has improved in the last 5 years is a gross insult,” he wrote.
He also questioned the economic logic of discovering US$1.5 billion in so-called “unaccounted pockets” of the economy, branding it “fantasy”.
“To suggest that wages & dividends have doubled in the last 5 years is pure fiction,” Biti said.
“This economy is on the throes, weighed down by massive corruption, incompetence & indifference.”
Government defends rebased GDP figures
In response to the criticism, Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has vigorously defended the updated figures, stating that the rebasing process followed international best practice and gives a more accurate picture of Zimbabwe’s real economy.
“There is a part of the economy that was not accounted for; this now captures that segment, which has been growing silently,” Ncube said during a post-Cabinet press briefing.
“We still believe that there is a lot that was left out because of the informality aspect, so we need to keep refining our methodology.”
The rebasing was based on the 2023 Economic Census conducted by Zimstat, which took into account informal traders, small-scale manufacturers, and emerging businesses that had previously gone untracked.
Ncube insisted that the new figures would strengthen Zimbabwe’s economic credibility and help address the country’s liquidity challenges.
“Given this larger GDP base, it creates more opportunity and capacity to start servicing our external debt,” he said.
He further clarified that the figures would not alter immediate expenditure commitments but could help grow the tax base.
“In terms of expenditure, we are not going to change that at all because we have already committed to certain projects,” he said.
“But what we need to figure out is how to grow tax revenues from this extra GDP.”
Biti: ‘The economy has shrunk, not grown’
Biti, however, is not convinced. He argued that Zimbabwe’s economic fundamentals have worsened over the past five years, citing power shortages, droughts, currency volatility, and factory closures as evidence.
“The economy has structurally shrunk in the last 5 years. There has been massive de-industrialisation, with companies shutting shop or relocating,” he said.
“Exchange rate mismanagement, power shortages, corruption & successive droughts have been permanent headwinds.”
Biti claims that the government is using the rebasing to create a false sense of recovery while the majority of Zimbabweans continue to suffer.
“This is a desperate mafia regime without limits, without elasticity,” he added.
The government, on the other hand, maintains that this is part of a broader journey to formalise the economy, modernise data systems, and move toward digital integration.
“We are bringing new systems for further digitalisation of the economy so that we can bring in all the players in the formal sector,” said Ncube.
He also acknowledged ongoing inequality but said the government was addressing it through progressive taxation and social protection.
“The rich pay more than the poorer income class,” Ncube said. “We also use different ways, such as social protection programmes, to uplift those who are at the bottom of the pyramid.”
Zimbabwe’s revised economic ranking places it behind South Africa (US$400 billion), Angola (US$115 billion), Tanzania (US$80 billion), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (US$71 billion) according to 2024 IMF estimates.
But critics like Biti say these figures do not reflect reality on the ground — a reality still marked by cash shortages, informal employment, and struggling hospitals.
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The post “$3,000 Income Per Person?” Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti Scoffs At Claims That Zimbabwe Is Now The 5th Largest Economy appeared first on iHarare News.
