The price controls appear like a sign of desperation... but I don't think they will have the desired results.
The underlying problem that needs to be addressed to tackle inflation is to stimulate economic production ... producers have to feel secure to produce, which is not happening.
What Mugabe is saying is nothing new and is insincere. He has made similar statements before and not stuck to them and it is also very clear that he still believes he has never been wrong.
They are bleeding and so are most companies and the whole economy is not sustainable.
Even the IMF payment is nothing much to cheer about because nothing on the ground has changed, the government's policies are still lopsided and the economy is still in trouble.
At its current levels, inflation becomes self-perpetuating because of expectations of higher inflation.
The concern obviously of a supplementary budget is the impact on the budget deficit, which will grow for the current fiscal year and will continue to feed into the inflationary cycle.
Also there are issues to do with Zimbabwe's pariah status which have influenced especially companies from the West. Most of them will be taking a cue from their governments.
The signal the market is getting from the governor is that yes, inflation will remain an enemy but attempts to bring it down have failed and that corruption is now a bigger animal that needs to be vigorously dealt with.
The signals are not there for foreign investors to come and commit money at the fair when they may not get any returns.
