Assembly of Minorities dismisses Mthuli Ncube’s ‘Middle-Income’ claim

The Assembly of Minorities (AM), a political party, has dismissed as misleading Finance Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube’s claims that Zimbabweans have attained middle-income status, saying the majority of citizens are living in poverty and struggling to survive on meagre wages.

This follows remarks made by Prof Ncube during the 2026 pre-budget seminar held in Bulawayo on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, where he claimed “most Zimbabweans are now middle-income citizens” citing average daily spending of US$9, improved infrastructure and what he described as “growing economic stability.”

However, AM Party leader, Mudenda Chilumbo, said the minister’s statement was “a deliberate attempt to deceive the nation,” arguing that the reality on the ground paints a completely different picture.

“The minister is misleading Zimbabweans because according to the World Bank, middle-income status refers to a country whose Gross National Income (GNI) per capita lies between US$1 136 and US$4 465,” said Chilumbo.

“This is contrary to Zimbabwe, where teachers, nurses, and other public service workers including our pensioners are receiving less than US$250 per month. Many urban communities including Bulawayo and Harare have gone for years without running water. How do you claim upper middle-income status under these circumstances, Minister Ncube?”

Chilumbo said the situation was even worse in rural areas, where basic services remain out of reach for most families.

“In rural areas, particularly in the most marginalised provinces of Matabeleland North, South and parts of Midlands, families still draw drinking water from open wells and rivers shared with wild animals and livestock  and my home area, Binga, is a case study for this matter. Do you argue?” he asked.

“Schools remain trapped in the colonial era without textbooks, furniture, or laboratories and thousands of children walk long distances just to learn under trees.”

Chilumbo described the country’s public hospitals as “death traps” and said informal workers and small traders, who form the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, continue to operate under harsh conditions.

“Hospitals that are supposed to serve citizens as a public good remain death traps where patients must bring their own gloves, bandages and medicine,” he said.

“Meanwhile, informal traders, who employ the majority of our citizens, continue to operate under harassment, spot fines and arbitrary levies without real government support. Civil servants struggle to afford transport to work. Families in towns rely on firewood for cooking, while rural clinics operate in darkness. The above are the real conditions to which our citizens are subjected, Minister Ncube not your lies.”

The AM leader said comparing Zimbabwe’s economic situation to countries that have genuinely achieved middle-income status exposes how far the nation still has to go.

“To put Zimbabwe’s statistical middle-income claim into perspective, take notes from the countries that have genuinely achieved it,” said Chilumbo.

“Botswana, for example, has invested heavily in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Its average worker earns over US$800 per month, public hospitals are well-equipped, and electricity and water supply reach most households.”

He added that Mauritius and Malaysia provide clear examples of countries whose development is reflected in tangible quality-of-life improvements for the majority of citizens.

“Mauritius provides free healthcare and education to all citizens and its per capita income is over US$11 000. Malaysia, which was at a similar development stage as Zimbabwe in the 1980s, now boasts modern infrastructure, a thriving industrial base and a per capita income above US$12 000,” said Chilumbo.

He stressed that those nations are globally recognised as genuine upper middle-income economies “based on tangible improvements in living standards for the majority, not only the elite few.”

“Upper middle-income economies are defined by a GNI per capita of at least US$4 500, not through propaganda meant to advance Mnangagwa’s ambitions to extend his tenure of office unconstitutionally using state platforms such as a pre-budget seminar,” Chilumbo said.

The AM leader further accused the finance minister of prioritising political loyalty over national interests.

“The AM party has strong evidence that Mthuli Ncube is not serving the interests of the people. He is serving his master, Emmerson Mnangagwa, so that he evades justice in connection with the Barbican Bank he owned, which duped Bulawayo residents of their hard-earned money and never refunded them,” claimed Chilumbo.

Chilumbo said the government’s “middle-income” narrative was part of a broader political campaign designed to justify failed economic policies and maintain power under the guise of progress.

“Zimbabwe cannot claim to have reached middle-income status when inflation remains high, workers are underpaid, hospitals are under-equipped, and millions live without basic services,” he said.

“The government must stop insulting citizens with cooked-up statistics. We live this reality daily, no clean water, no jobs, no electricity, and collapsing infrastructure. That is not middle-income life. That is survival.”