Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
THE 2025 Mid-Term Budget Review statement presented by Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube in the National Assembly yesterday aptly captures positive developments in the economy and boosts investor confidence through the Government’s commitment to policies that maintain economic stability.
This was said by legislators and analysts following the presentation of the Statement at Parliament Building in Mt Hampden.
Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said the stability in the economy was important for the country’s growth prospects.
“I think what is very important is to acknowledge the macroeconomic stability that the country has been experiencing. We are moving much closer to 12 months of exchange stability, of inflation rate stability and these are key tenets of any economic growth,” he said.
“And for us as industry, that’s what we would like to see the fiscal and monetary authorities maintain. Beyond that, again, we are happy with the rebasing of the economy. Clearly, the economy has been growing more than we have been measuring.
“Our GDP is now upwards of US$45 billion and again, the good news of the day is that the manufacturing sector is back at the top as the biggest contributor to our GDP. This is very good for any economy because it means that as a country we have been focusing on valuating our minerals, our agriculture, and that’s the way to go.
“This is where you create more jobs. The manufacturing sector has a multiplier effect of up to three in terms of job creation, in terms of value creation. So we are quite happy about that.”
He, however, called on the Treasury to increase Budget releases to enable Ministries to fulfil their mandates.
Economist Mr Percy Gwanyanya echoed similar sentiments.
“There is need for the corporate businesses to take advantage of the concessions by Government relating to the ease of business that were announced by the Minister of Finance.
“We are going to see those reviews being implemented and the reviews are very important, especially at a time, it has been confirmed by the economic census that the significant economy that was previously uncaptured is a key driver to the GDP today.
“So there is need to capture that economy into the mainstream economy so that it starts to contribute positively and significantly to the economy. So clearly, the measures to review the cost of doing business, regulatory fees and other related costs are welcome measures that will grow our economy towards the targeted levels,” Mr Gwanyanya said.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Cde Energy Mutodi said economic stability was good for business.
His Industry and Commerce counterpart, Cde Clemence Chiduwa said the statement was predictable.
“I wanted to say that the Budget was in line with the statutory requirements and given the stability that we are currently enjoying, there wasn’t much that we were expecting in terms of changes,” he said.
“And another thing that I think is on the positive side, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP is now at 15 percent, which means that we are actually adding value to what we have and we would want the trend to continue, maybe up to 22 percent because we have reached those levels before.
“So, this is where we are, but the way we need to focus our attention most is to ensure that we use the Budget as allocated.”
