The International Monetary Fund (IMF), this week revealed Zimbabwe’s economy will rebound next year and grow 4,2 percent from a decline of 10,2 percent forecast for 2020.
The world body’s prediction comes on the back of global economic recovery from the impact of ravaging Covid-19.
As the domestic and global economies recover, the IMF said Zimbabwe’s annualised consumer inflation, which it puts at 255 percent for 2019, will close at 622 percent this year, but fall drastically to 3,7 percent in 2021.
Zimbabwe Treasury said last week it had ticked all the boxes of targeted reforms under the TSP (2018-2020), laying a solid foundation for sustained growth of at least 5 percent annually until 2030.
The Government’s Vision 2030, which encapsulates the ongoing economic programmes, is targeted at growing Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income economy with per capita income averaging US$4 000.
And the Treasury expects the economy to expand 7,4 percent next year from a projected 4,5 percent Covid-19-induced decline this year on the back of expected good agricultural season and recovery of the global economy.
Key drivers of next year’s growth will include an improvement in exports and commodity prices, as the world economy kicks into gear again, along with a recovery in both private consumption and investment.
The projections by the global lender, while agreeing generally on decline and growth, however, contrast sharply with Finance Minister and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube’s forecasts in terms of rates of contraction and expansion for the successive years.
