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Fungi Kwaramba-Political Editor

ZIMBABWE is making progress in its debt clearance mission with trust and goodwill growing among partners through the elimination of negative perceptions and mistrust, President Mnangagwa has said.

Officially opening the 4th High-Level Debt Resolution Forum in Harare yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the platform is part of Zimbabwe’s Arrears Clearance and Debt Resolution process, which was introduced by the Second Republic to deal with the country’s arrears and debt overhang that has for years weighed heavily on Zimbabwe’s socio-economic development.

Despite the debt albatross coupled with the negative impact of economic sanctions, Zimbabwe continues to make progress through self-financing its own projects while at the same time continuously engaging and re-engaging multinational financial institutions as well as countries it is indebted to.

In this regard, President Mnangagwa has engaged the services of former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano and African Development Bank Group (AFDB) president Dr Akinwumi Adesina as debt clearance champions.

“Informed by our engagement and re-engagement agenda, my Government has been making quarterly token payments to the Multilateral Development Banks. There is a need to nurture the trust and goodwill which continues to grow among all parties as we manage perceptions and mistrust. It is in this spirit that the implementation of the Arrears Clearance, Debt Relief and Restructuring Strategy has culminated in the establishment of this Structured Dialogue Platform.

“I commend all stakeholders for the progress we have made to date. The growing consensus and confidence in the process has seen the platform hosting successful Structured Dialogue Platform meetings as well as transparent and inclusive consultative processes,” said the President.

He outlined how the country has been affected negatively by the debt overhang, pointing at the health, education, and social protection sectors and the effects of failure to access lines of credit on the most vulnerable members of society such as the elderly and children.

Thus, the country’s ability to achieve inclusive economic development, such as infrastructure investments and climate change mitigation has also been affected, just as Zimbabwe had to go it alone in combating the Covid-19 pandemic without external support.

“As such, Zimbabwe’s sustainable economic recovery agenda requires augmentation by a comprehensive arrears clearance and debt resolution process which is backed by International Financial Institutions and the international community at large,” said President Mnangagwa.

He also outlined measures that his administration—through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) — has taken to achieve economic stability towards attaining an upper-middle-class status.

These measures include fiscal consolidation and enhancement of fiscal transparency, the removal of subsidies on fuel, electricity and agricultural products, coupled with more efficient procurement processes to ensure value for money.

Accompanying that is a sound Monetary Policy regime which is in place to contain money supply growth.

The foreign exchange rate regime is anchored by the willing buyer willing seller foreign exchange rate system, which has been enhanced by increasing and standardising the trading margins of authorised dealers.

“There is accelerated implementation of the Arrears Clearance, Debt Relief and Restructuring Strategy, while transparency and accountability is being nurtured through regular reporting as well as the publication of public debt statistics and information,” the President said.

He also told the forum that there are public enterprise reforms, consolidation of constitutionalism, and reforms that have resulted in the economy registering notable GDP growth.

“It is also pleasing that the three pillars for implementation: Economic Reforms, Governance Reforms, and Land Tenure Reforms; Compensation of Former Farm Owners; and the resolution of Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements are making headway. 

“The three Reform Matrices with regards the work plan going forward are now being finalised pending feedback from the Capitals of our creditors and Development Partners. In addition, my Government has begun engagements with those affected by BIPPAS on a case by case basis,” President Mnangagwa said.

The Forum was attended by representatives of Western countries, multilateral institutions, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa and other senior Government officials.

In his speech, Dr Adesina said Zimbabwe deserves the support of the world because through President Mnangagwa, the country has shown its commitment to reform.

“We are gathered for the future of Zimbabwe.  We are gathered because we believe in a better future for Zimbabwe youths, we are gathered because we are part of the support for arrears and debt resolution. We are gathered to bring hope to the people of Zimbabwe. A revived Zimbabwe is good for the world.

“I would like to commend His Excellency President Mnangagwa for your determination to ensure that you resolve well-known historical issues that led to the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe.  Yes, it is the right thing to do after decades of sanctions that have compromised Zimbabwe,” said Dr Adesina.

President Chissano said Zimbabwe is showing commitment to reform and also through engagement, and the world has to take advantage of the ever-open door of President Mnangagwa.

“I am optimistic by nature, and I am also optimistic about what I am seeing. Zimbabwe is showing determination to consolidate that democracy as it is committed to peace. We commend the Government of Zimbabwe for initiating dialogue with all relevant partners,” he said.

Recently, the two champions on Zimbabwe debt clearance were in the United States as they pushed Washington DC to remove the unilateral economic sanctions, and the results are promising.