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Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister, Ncube projects 6% economic growth

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2023

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube has revealed that the country is set to leap beyond the 3.8% recorded last year and hit 6% this year.

Ncube claimed the projected increase was a result of strong performance by agriculture, and easing power shortages.

The Zimbabwean government earlier this week revealed that it expected to harvest 2.3 million tonnes of maize this year, a 58% jump from the previous season driven by favourable rains.

Ncube, at an online briefing, said “We are saying 3.8% growth is an underestimate. The growth should be higher than that and close to 6%.”

“What we mainly did this week was to recognise the strong recovery in the agricultural sector where we have seen 54% growth, at least in the grains sub-sector. We are seeing a 35% growth in the non-food sector,” Ncube said.

The minister also hinted that likely improvement in electricity supply was imminent due to improved generation at the Hwange coal plant and the Kariba hydroelectric station.

He insisted that the possibility of overspending was low for the country given this year’s general election. He noted that the target remained an overall fiscal deficit at 1.5% of the gross domestic product, the same as forecast in November.

A World Bank report published in March revealed that persistent inflation, high dependence on low-productivity agriculture, slow structural transformation, and intermittent shocks like drought, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the high rate of poverty and vulnerability in Zimbabwe.

Related Topics:Economic Growth Featured Mthuli-Ncube Zimbabwe

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

12 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.