Online Reporter
Harmony Agere
ZIMBABWE has been ranked among Africa’s best performers in budget transparency after securing third position in Sub-Saharan Africa and second in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the 2025 Open Budget Survey (OBS), Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said.
In a statement on Wednesday, Prof Ncube said Zimbabwe scored 62 out of 100 on the Open Budget Index (OBI), significantly above the Sub-Saharan African average of 38 and above the international benchmark for adequate public access to budget information.
The Open Budget Survey, conducted every two years by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), assesses countries on budget transparency, public participation and budget oversight.
“The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion is pleased to announce that Zimbabwe has once again recorded a strong performance in the 2025 Open Budget Survey (OBS), reaffirming Government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and sound public financial management,” said Prof Ncube.
“Conducted every two years by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), the Open Budget Survey is the world’s leading independent assessment of budget transparency, public participation and oversight.
“The survey measures countries’ performance across three pillars: Budget Transparency, Public Participation and Budget Oversight.”
Prof Ncube attributed the achievement to Government efforts to improve fiscal transparency and strengthen public financial management systems under the National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030.
“This achievement reflects Government’s continued efforts to strengthen fiscal transparency, improve public access to budget information and implement public financial management reforms under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030,” said Prof Ncube.
“Government acknowledges the contributions of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Office of the Auditor-General, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and National Association of Non-Governmental
Organisations (NANGO) in advancing the public financial management reform agenda.”
Prof Ncube said Government would continue strengthening citizen participation in the budget process through nationwide consultations ahead of the 2027 National Budget.
“While significant progress has been made in transparency and oversight, Government remains focused on strengthening public participation,” he said.
“In this regard, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion and Parliament of Zimbabwe will conduct nationwide budget consultation meetings from July to December 2026 as part of preparations for the 2027 National Budget.
“These consultations will provide citizens, civil society organisations, youth, women, persons with disabilities, business representatives and other stakeholders with meaningful opportunities to contribute to the budget process.”
