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GOVERNMENT has demonstrated boldness and strong belief in its policy direction after indicating in its draft interim poverty reduction strategy paper (I-PRSP) that it has targeted an ambitious economic growth rate of 6,6 percent from 2016 to 2018.
The interim poverty reduction strategy looks at issues, plans and programmes in various sectors of the economy including agriculture, manufacturing, construction, financial services, ICTs and socio-economic areas such as health, education and social protection.
I-PRSP, crafted by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, envisages near double digit growth of 9,5 percent and 8,9 percent in 2017 and 2018 respectively, which would be a massive jump-start given the prevailing sluggish growth.
The draft strategy document, which the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is still gathering stakeholder input for, also targets inflation of 0,6 percent, an interest rate regime that promotes and fosters investment, a current account deficit of less than 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Other macro-economic targets include reserves of at least three months import cover by 2018 and budget deficit equal to 1,2 percent of GDP in the last two years of the poverty strategy’s lifespan.
Many will doubt the policy targets given the trough the economy is in, but the fact that the country wields unlimited potential is beyond any doubt.
It should be mentioned though at the outset that there is need to set realistic and practical targets, cognisant of the many endogenous and exogenous factors that may affect the plans.
The projected economic growth rate for this year was partially affected by the effects of the El Nino-induced drought and the fall in global commodity prices.
However, the underlying factors that have taken the steam off domestic economic growth remain and these include weak investor confidence, policy inconsistency, low foreign direct investment, high cost of funding, labour, utilities, transport and low industrial production among others.
It remains our fervent hope that Government will step up the gear in its implementation of the various programmes and projects as espoused in the national economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, to ensure that most if not all economic targets are achieved on time.
Zimbabwe holds immense potential to prosper economically, given its abundant human and natural resources, which should complement each other in order to ignite the economic miracle that must now happen, but is being stifled by a myriad of factors.
Countries with far less attractive economic attributes compared to Zimbabwe, such as Zambia and Mozambique seem to be doing better economically and running ahead of us in growth and attraction of foreign investment.
There is need for self-introspection to figure out what we are not doing so well as a country and correct all of it to realise our potential for growth, as one of the few remaining last frontiers of growth.
What comes to mind in this regard are issues to do with effective policy implementation, monitoring, evaluation and control, which have led to the failure of many previous brilliant policies, as well as concerns of corruption in State institutions or entities.
There is need therefore for action to, at least address them and build the confidence.
It is, however, heartening to note that Government has demonstrated its desire to set the economy on positive growth trajectory by committing to a number of structural economic reforms and programmes that include clearing the huge debt burden, re-engaging multilateral lenders and improving the ease of doing business.
The cocktail of the interventions, which also entail public finance management and fiscal realignments, mean that Government can achieve its average economic growth targets over the three years to 2018 and our hope is that due consideration has been made to make the goals and targets realisable.
GOVERNMENT has demonstrated boldness and strong belief in its policy direction after indicating in its draft interim poverty reduction strategy paper (I-PRSP) that it has targeted an ambitious economic growth rate of 6,6 percent from 2016 to 2018.The interim poverty reduction strategy looks at issues, plans and programmes in various sectors of the economy including agriculture, manufacturing, construction, financial services, ICTs and socio-economic areas such as health, education and social protection.I-PRSP, crafted by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, envisages near double digit growth of 9,5 percent and 8,9 percent in 2017 and 2018 respectively, which would be a massive jump-start given the prevailing sluggish growth.The draft strategy document, which the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is still gathering stakeholder input for, also targets inflation of 0,6 percent, an interest rate regime that promotes and fosters investment, a current account deficit of less than 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.Other macro-economic targets include reserves of at least three months import cover by 2018 and budget deficit equal to 1,2 percent of GDP in the last two years of the poverty strategy’s lifespan.Many will doubt the policy targets given the trough the economy is in, but the fact that the country wields unlimited potential is beyond any doubt.It should be mentioned though at the outset that there is need to set realistic and practical targets, cognisant of the many endogenous and exogenous factors that may affect the plans.The projected economic growth rate for this year was partially affected by the effects of the El Nino-induced drought and the fall in global commodity prices.However, the underlying factors that have taken the steam off domestic economic growth remain and these include weak investor confidence, policy inconsistency, low foreign direct investment, high cost of funding, labour, utilities, transport and low industrial production among others.It remains our fervent hope that Government will step up the gear in its implementation of the various programmes and projects as espoused in the national economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, to ensure that most if not all economic targets are achieved on time.Zimbabwe holds immense potential to prosper economically, given its abundant human and natural resources, which should complement each other in order to ignite the economic miracle that must now happen, but is being stifled by a myriad of factors.Countries with far less attractive economic attributes compared to Zimbabwe, such as Zambia and Mozambique seem to be doing better economically and running ahead of us in growth and attraction of foreign investment.There is need for self-introspection to figure out what we are not doing so well as a country and correct all of it to realise our potential for growth, as one of the few remaining last frontiers of growth.What comes to mind in this regard are issues to do with effective policy implementation, monitoring, evaluation and control, which have led to the failure of many previous brilliant policies, as well as concerns of corruption in State institutions or entities. There is need therefore for action to, at least address them and build the confidence.It is, however, heartening to note that Government has demonstrated its desire to set the economy on positive growth trajectory by committing to a number of structural economic reforms and programmes that include clearing the huge debt burden, re-engaging multilateral lenders and improving the ease of doing business.The cocktail of the interventions, which also entail public finance management and fiscal realignments, mean that Government can achieve its average economic growth targets over the three years to 2018 and our hope is that due consideration has been made to make the goals and targets realisable.
Online Reporter