Zimbabwe’s government
seems to be waking up
to the fact that it cannot
keep up its draconian
policies or it will continue
to drive away much-needed
investment,
which has
boosted the
country’s
economic
growth
prospects.
The African
Development Bank (AfDB)
in its Economic Growth
Outlook 2016 report for
Zimbabwe predicted a
marginal improvement in
economic growth, pointing
out that there was a need to
continue implementation
of structural reforms
to improve the business
environment, reform public
enterprises and make
growth more inclusive.
In its report, AfDB
commented that
various initiatives
had been taken to
address these issues
but progress had
been limited by slow
implementation of
the related policies and
strategies.
“Government has
stepped up its engagement
with the private sector
and seems to be looking at
more of a ‘carrot’ approach
to stimulate investment
and buy-in of the country’s
policies rather than the
‘stick’ approach it had
before,” said Duncan
Bonnett, director at
African specialist
consultancy, Whitehouse &
Associates.
According to him, this
could be a positive sign
that Zimbabwe’s fortunes
could soon change. And
if the country’s economic
prospects do take a positive
turn, they could turn
very quickly.
“Despite 15 years of
decline in Zimbabwe,
the infrastructure is
still better than that of
a lot of other countries
in the southern African
region,” said Bonnett.
He added that
although Zimbabwe’s
local industry had been
negatively affected
during the decline there
was still a lot of potential
around its agricultural and
commodities sectors.
“Zimbabwe’s export
basket has changed over
the years. In the 1990s and
early 2 000s it offered a lot
of value-added products
when its manufacturing
sector was thriving. With
local industry declining
however, it has opened
opportunities for increased
imports from South
Africa,” he said.
Zimbabwe Reserve
Bank governor, Dr John
Panonetsa Mangudya, is
also optimistic about an
economic transformation
this year, noting that this
would be on the back
of positive gains in the
ongoing implementation
of the country’s debt and
arrears clearance strategy.
“We are on target in the
mobilisation of financial
resources required to settle
the external debt arrears,”
Mangudya said, adding
this was part of a number
of “investor confidence
boosting initiatives” that
would bear fruit this year.
INSERT & CAPTION
Government seems to
be looking at more of
a ‘carrot’ approach to
stimulate investment.
– Duncan Bonnett
CAPTION
Harare CBD.
Are Zim’s economic fortunes changing?
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