The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has acknowledged the stability of the country’s gold-backed Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, calling for measures to ensure the country’s macro-economic fundamentals remain stable.
This follows a courtesy call by an IMF delegation led by Mission Chief, Mr Wojciech Maliszewski, on President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House this Monday.
The delegation was accompanied by the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, as part of ongoing consultations under the Staff Monitored Programme.
Speaking after the closed-door meeting, Mr Maliszewski commended Zimbabwe’s economic trajectory and outlined key areas of reform.
“As you may be aware, we are here to discuss the Staff Monitored Programme. We are making good progress in agreeing on policies to enhance the stability of the domestic currency, deepen the foreign exchange market, and ensure fiscal discipline is fully entrenched,” he said.
He noted that reforms centred on public financial management and fiscal discipline are critical to assuring long-term stability and public confidence in Zimbabwe’s macroeconomic framework.
“The main two reforms that we were discussing were in the area of fiscal market, making sure that fiscal discipline is in place. Strengthening some changes in the public financial system is also important because this will reassure the people of Zimbabwe that the current macro-economic stability will stay there for good. We would like to see a convergence in the official rate and parallel market,” he added.
Professor Mthuli Ncube noted it is key for the country to clear its arrears as this will unlock affordable credit lines.
“We have been discussing how to make sure we maintain fiscal discipline to ensure it continues. We need to look at the areas of risk and how to avoid those risks and be able to deal with them. We have come a long way, the ZiG is stable and the discussions of the staff monitoring programme are on how to maintain the stability of the ZiG.”
“We have all been acknowledging the month-on-month stability of the inflation. It is quite clear that the macro stability is welcome to allow companies to thrive due to more predictability. The goal of clearing arrears is a real one, it will open flood gates for cheaper financing,” he said.
The Second Republic has made a commitment and put various measures to clear the country’s debt with international financiers.
