President Emmerson Mnangagwa, on the occasion of the Economic Summit in Harare today, showed confidence that Zimbabwe will manage to reform the struggling economy without the aid of international financiers.
Financiers suspended offering loans to Zimbabwe due to outstanding debt issues.
The Zimbabwe government, on the other hand, blames sanctions for restricted access to lines of credit from multilateral lending institutions.
“Allow me to highlight the fact that we are undertaking these reforms on our own, with no support form International Financial Institutions, which is enjoyed by other jurisdictions undertaking similar reforms,” the President said.
“This will not dampen our resolve. Reforms are for our benefit and we will soldier on.”
President Mnangagwa promises to soldier on as local press reports of a fall out between the government and one of the global financiers, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) reforms.
The government and the IMF made the informal SMP to support the country’s reform agenda.
A local press, which claims to be having sources within the government says Zimbabwe failed to meet set and agreed on economic reform targets in the SMP.
Zimbabwe failed to meet the agreed targets to due to unrestrained fiscal expenditure and massive growth in money supply according to the same press.
The government introduced the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) to reforms Zimbabwe’s troubled economy.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, in 2018, described the measures to reform the economy and get the national budget under control as painful.
Zimbabwe has since the introduction of TSP witnessed an increase in the tax regime with charges structuring to 2 cents per every dollar transaction charge.
The country has also witnessed the introduction of local currency into the currency basket and this was followed by price instability and increasing inflation.
Zimbabwean press has in the past criticised government officials of travelling around the world with a begging bowl.
The President, however, said, “We are determined to be part of the global family of nations, as economic partners and not beggars.”
