Why would economy of Zimbabwe contract by 4.5 percent this year?

Finance Minister of Zimbabwe, Mthuli Ncube yesterday said the country’s ailing economy would shrink by 4.5 percent in 2020 because of climatic shocks and the coronavirus pandemic.

The projection is much more optimistic than that of the World Bank which June predicted a contraction of 10 percent.

But Ncube said “a combination of government and external development support in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to alleviate deeper contraction of the economy to a projected -4.5 percent growth in 2020”.

Ncube was presenting a mid-term budget in parliament in the capital, Harare.

Zimbabwe has recorded at least 1,089 cases, including 20 fatalities.

Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a downturn for over a decade with shortages of cash and basic commodities.

This article has been posted by a News Hour Correspondent. For queries, please contact through [email protected]
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