Zimbabwe’s economy to grow faster in 2017

Zimbabwe’s economy will grow four times faster in 2017 than in 2016. This is a 2.8 % rise on the back of a good agricultural season, according to a World Bank’s latest report released on Wednesday.

Fiscal imbalances combined with a large volume of domestic debt are at the core of Zimbabwe’s on-going cash shortages.

The gravity of the economic situation has forced the Zimbabwean government into a process of re-engagement with the West.

Re-engagement is primarily aimed at attracting new revenue to ease the crisis of liquidity and fiscal deficit.

Government reforms have made progress in critical areas such as public finance management.

But the finance minister has slammed those paying themselves huge salaries with no consideration of the status quo.

Minister of Finance in Zimbabwe Patrick Chinamasa says: ” The sad phenomenon in our economic situation is that as things were getting worse in terms of performance. For me a manager who increases his wages when he knows that his organization is in a state of insolvency, should be fired without fail.”

Chinamasa says bringing proposals of salary increase in the current economic environment is in actual fact criminal.

While the economic scenario appears positive, the World Bank is not very optimistic for 2018 and 2019.

The reason of the positive economy is that the 2017 growth has been boosted by good agriculture.

World Bank economist Johanees Herderschee says: ” The reason is that growth this year is good because of agriculture and you can’t assume that you will have rains good as this year on a continuous basis .”

Meanwhile, the finance minister has cautioned that the reduction of imports should not affect the importation of raw materials which feeds the country’s industry.

Chinamasa says: “We hope that the reduction is being accounted by those cheap imports which were coming into our country and which had no relevance to the turnaround of our economy.”

The minister says another element of concern is what the government does with the revenue when it receives it ,and that’s where the problem really lies.

– By TV Desk