World Bank Vice President, Hafez Ghanem sees potential for Zimbabwe to become a middle-income country within a decade, in an interview with Bloomberg.
This comes after President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa was declared a winner for the 2018 presidential elections which have been marred by post-election violence.
“It’s a country with huge potential,” Ghanem is quoted by Bloomberg. Zimbabwe “can easily become an upper middle-income country in a very short time. Depending on the type of programs, five to ten years.”
“Zimbabwe has some of the most educated people on our continent, so we have human capital and we have natural resources.”
The World Bank Vice President also speaks of the government’s need to attract investment, deal with debt and return to the international financial system to recover and grow.
Ghanem said the nation could seek bridge financing, where the government can borrow from bilateral arrangements to cover arrears.
“The expected benefits from rejoining the international financial community is higher than the cost of these loans,” Ghanem is quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
The Vice President also said another option for the Southern African Country is would be to seek relief under the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s heavily indebted poor countries initiative, although it is a longer process.
The yet to be inaugurated Zimbabwe President’s plan is to make the nation a middle-income country by 2030.
Ghanem in the interview with Bloomberg said, “We are eager to support Zimbabwe.”
