{"id":4438,"date":"2026-02-07T02:53:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T02:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/zimbabwe-agrees-to-an-imf-staff-monitored-programme"},"modified":"2026-02-07T03:19:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T03:19:21","slug":"zimbabwe-agrees-to-an-imf-staff-monitored-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/zimbabwe-agrees-to-an-imf-staff-monitored-programme","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe Agrees to an IMF Staff-Monitored Programme"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>A government official said on Friday that Zimbabwe has agreed to a staff-monitored programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an initial preparatory step toward closer engagement with the Fund that could later open the way to a lending programme.<\/p>\n

George Guvamatanga, an official at the Ministry of Finance, told Reuters that the authorities are targeting a 10-month programme starting next month \u201cif all procedures can be completed on time,\u201d adding that \u201cthe programme aims to entrench ongoing reforms in fiscal and monetary policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

A staff-monitored programme is an informal arrangement that involves no direct financing and does not require approval by the IMF\u2019s Executive Board, but it can help build a credible track record of reforms that paves the way for financial support or the restart of previous programmes.<\/p>\n

For his part, IMF mission chief Wojciech Maliszewski said the debt management plan is intended to strengthen credibility and support re-engagement efforts, complementing a broader strategy to clear arrears and restructure debt, ultimately leading to external financing on concessional terms.<\/p>\n

Decades of hyperinflation<\/b><\/p>\n

Zimbabwe has suffered for decades from hyperinflation, currency volatility, and reliance on informal dollar-denominated markets.<\/p>\n

It launched its last staff-monitored programme in May 2019, but it was later cancelled due to non-compliance with recommendations.<\/p>\n

The Finance Ministry pointed to a recent improvement in macroeconomic indicators: annual inflation in local currency slowed to 4.1%, while dollar-denominated inflation stood at 1% year-on-year in January.<\/p>\n

Data also showed the government had built up $1.2 billion in foreign-asset reserves by December 2025 to support Zimbabwe\u2019s gold-backed currency (ZiG), launched in 2024.<\/p>\n

Arrears repayment challenge<\/b><\/p>\n

Despite the progress, repaying external arrears remains a key condition for securing new financing.<\/p>\n

According to an IMF report in October, Zimbabwe\u2019s outstanding external arrears totaled $7.4 billion since the early 2000s. The IMF said it cannot offer a financed programme until those arrears are cleared.<\/p>\n

Kepler-Karst Consulting said the agreement on a staff-monitored programme is a crucial step to strengthen macroeconomic stability and build a policy-reform track record, paving the way to clear arrears and resolve the debt crisis.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. A government official said on Friday that Zimbabwe has agreed to a staff-monitored programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an initial preparatory step toward closer engagement with the Fund that could later open the way to a lending programme. George Guvamatanga, an official at the Ministry of Finance, told Reuters that the authorities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-4438","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nZimbabwe Agrees to an IMF Staff-Monitored Programme - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. 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