The change in Zimbabwe’s leadership this week could spark confidence in the economy but substantial political and policy reforms are needed to sustain it, analysts say.

“A new hope has been created … there is a sense of relief, there is freedom of expression, freedom of association,” Harare-based economist Vince Musewe, said after President Robert Mugabe’s resignation on Tuesday.

From the jam-packed streets of Harare to Johannesburg’s Hillbrow, euphoria followed the announcement that Mugabe’s 37-year chokehold on the country was over.

Musewe said Zimbabwe has been in a state of paralysis, with a dysfunctional government focused on internal political battles rather than the economy. “Any move away from that is welcome,” he said.

The country’s economy has been battered under Mugabe’s leadership, most recently suffering a severe liquidity crisis.