our country. We want jobs, jobs, jobs!"
Among the cheering crowd was Remigio Mutero, 30, an unemployed IT graduate. "All I want is job creation, and he has promised it," he told AFP. Anger at bond notes was a driving force behind protests last year, while rocketing prices have returned in recent months -- adding to the pressure that finally forced the military to take over.
The country does have economic strengths, especially in tobacco, cotton and mining, and Mugabe´s fall could offer the chance to open the taps for funding from overseas donors like the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mnangagwa -- a veteran Mugabe loyalist -- appears open to limited economic reform, including of the "indigenisation" laws that force foreign-owned companies to sell majority stakes to locals.
The IHS Markit analysis consultancy also predicted the reinstatement of former finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, saying the move "would indicate a more pro-business shift (and) re-engagement with the international community".
But local economists like Tony Hawkins, a professor at the University of Zimbabwe, warned that the country´s problems run deep and international donors may not be encouraged by the new ZANU-PF regime.
"Lenders like the IMF want reforms. They will say trim the civil services, cut the wage bill. None of these can be achieved overnight," he said. "If Mnangagwa cuts civil servants salaries, he is going to lose his support.
"We have no money in the banks, we have a huge budget deficit, there is hardly any foreign direct investment. There is no magic wand." Many ordinary Zimbabweans, still stunned that Mugabe is no longer in power, are seizing on the chance to be more optimistic.
"We have suffered for too long," said Charles Mutimhairi, 35, who runs a stationery shop. "Real change means creating a stable environment for new investment to bring more money and to expand companies and create jobs. We need confidence for that to be able to happen."