‘Zimbabwe’s growth could beat forecast’

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ZIMBABWE’S economy could expand faster than previously projected this year, supported by easing inflation, a strong mining sector and continued economic reforms, the World Bank has said.

World Bank country manager for Zimbabwe Eneida Fernandes said the country’s econom­ic fundamentals had improved significantly, creating conditions for stronger-than-expected growth.

“Zimbabwe’s economy is stronger than it has been in a very long time,” Fernandes told jour­nalists recently.

“I think there’s a lot of policies that have been put in place.

We talked quite a bit about the work in the presidential programme on improving the busi­ness environment and we’re seeing clear growth in the agribusiness sector, manufacturing, but also mining as well, with the costs of gold and lithium going up.”

Zimbabwe’s mining sector has remained one of the economy’s key growth drivers, benefit­ing from firm international gold prices and sus­tained investment in lithium, while agriculture has rebounded following favourable rains.

Manufacturing has also shown signs of re­covery as macroeconomic conditions stabilise.

Fernandes said prudent economic manage­ment had helped tame inflation and improve confidence, laying the foundation for stronger economic expansion.

“But also, the diligence of the government in managing the economy.

Inflation is down, there’s great plans for en­ergy upgrades in the country, all that leading to growth that we see coming this year, maybe even higher than what we had originally pre­dicted,” she said.

The World Bank has previously projected Zimbabwe’s economy to grow by six percent this year, driven by recovery in agriculture, mining and greater macroeconomic stability.

Fernandes also commended the government’s commitment to economic reforms.

“The government of Zimbabwe has made a big commitment in working with the Monetary Fund and with the World Bank and some clear policies that are going to be undertaken this year under the Staff Monitored Programme with the IMF, but also in all of our work on taxes and our public finance management with support from the bank,” she said.

Fernandes urged authorities to maintain the reform momentum.

“I would just say continue doing more of what you’re already doing and we really congratulate the government on what we’ve achieved so far,” she said.

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