Zimbabwe coping better with drought, records 2% economic growth – says Finance minister

Bloomberg

ZIMBABWE’S response to the El Nino-induced drought is robust and resulted in the economy growing by 2% as compared to negative figures in the last famine experienced in 2019, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has said.

Zimbabwe is grappling with an El Nino-induced drought which was declared a national disaster by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

While launching a US$3.3 billion appeal earlier this year, the government said an estimated 9 million people required food aid until March 2025.

Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg, Ncube revealed Zimbabwe had coped well with the drought this year.

“We have done a better job in response to the drought this time around than we did in 2019,” said Ncube.

“In 2019, we had a negative 7% rate of growth, this year we had a plus 2%. We coped better this time around.”

On food availability in the wake of the dry spell, Ncube said supermarkets were fully stocked although ordinary citizens do not have cash to buy goods.

“The first order of business, we opened up the borders and we let anybody with free funds to import food. Actually, the shops in Zimbabwe are full of food, the only issue is affordability but not access to food. There is enough food in the shops,” added the Treasury chief.

Zimbabweans in the diaspora are contributing to the country’s economy with yearly remittances averaging US$2 billion, a figure which Ncube says adds “additional resources for families.”

Turning to the southern African nation’s debt overhang, Ncube reassured commitments to international financial institutions and bilateral creditors, which remain high on the agenda.

He said Zimbabwe needs to shake off the debt “albatross” by implementing economic and governance reforms in order to allow doubling or trebling of credit.