According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), increased fiscal instability and a decline in agricultural output will cause Zimbabwe’s economic growth to decrease to around half of what it was last year.
According to Dhaneshwar Ghura, the head of a visiting IMF team, “real GDP growth is likely to decrease to approximately three-and-half percent in 2022 after rising to about seven percent in 2021” as irregular rains and rising macroeconomic uncertainty hinder agriculture.
The economy of Zimbabwe has been in decline for about 20 years. There are once again demands for new price and exchange rate depreciation.
Inflation soared to 285 percent in August, said the IMF, up from 60 percent at the beginning of the year.
“Uncertainty remains high, however, and the outlook will depend on the evolution of external shocks, the policy stance, and implementation of inclusive growth-friendly policies,” Ghura said following a visit to the capital Harare.
Zimbabwe receives technical assistance from the IMF, but the IMF is unable to give the country financial aid “due to unsustainable debt and official external arrears,” the source added.
Macroeconomic stability, the eradication of poverty, and transparency reforms are prerequisites for any financial transaction.
