Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Hub
TREASURY remains firmly focused on preserving economic stability, expanding energy access, easing the cost of doing business, and steering Zimbabwe towards attaining upper-middle-income economy status by 2030, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, has said.
Speaking during a media briefing in Bulawayo recently, Prof Ncube underlined the centrality of stability in driving Zimbabwe’s economic trajectory, affirming Government’s confidence in achieving set fiscal and developmental goals.
“So I believe that the budget is on the right track, we will meet all our targets and we must maintain stability. That is very, very critical. Stability, stability, stability,” said Prof Ncube.
One of the flagship interventions receiving Government attention is the energy sector, where Zimbabwe is setting the pace on the continent through a newly signed energy compact with international financial institutions.
“In the energy sector, we signed an energy compact with the World Bank and the African Development Bank and we look forward to President Mnangagwa signing it off at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York during the UN next month and then launching it with other Presidents,” said Prof Ncube.
“Zimbabwe is way ahead of other African countries in the articulation of its own energy compact in a way that will make sure there is a greater and almost universal access to energy by 2030.”
Cabinet approved the National Energy Compact for Zimbabwe, which forms part of the wider Dar-es-Salaam Declaration outcomes from the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit held earlier this year.
The compact dovetails with the Mission 300 initiative, which targets electrifying 3,1 million households and achieving 70 percent access to clean cooking solutions by 2030.
This strategic thrust is expected to power key productive sectors while accelerating inclusive development and environmental sustainability.
Turning to macro-economic performance, Prof Ncube reported encouraging outcomes from the ongoing rebasing of the national economy, a process informed by a comprehensive economic census conducted by ZimStat.
“Also, I am very happy to report that the rebasing of the economy in that project has gone very well. From the economic census conducted by ZimStat, we see that our economy is actually a lot bigger. It is about $45 billion by end of 2024, but by end of this year, it should be about $48 billion,” he said.
According to the Minister, the expansion has positive implications for Zimbabwe’s gross national income and GDP per capita.
“That has major implications. It means that our gross-national product, gross-national income (GNI) and GDP per capita, per person, for both of those, those are now above $3 000 per person. So that is good progress towards upper-middle-income status.”
“That really confirms that Zimbabwe is a middle-income economy and we keep moving up. It also means that our debt-to-GDP ratio is now of the order of 45 percent or so, which means that then we are not highly indebted in a way.”
However, Prof Ncube noted that the major challenge remains legacy debt arrears which are receiving due attention.
“Our issue is we have arrears to clear in terms of our debt, and that is what we have been working on through our debt dialogue platform. Also, it means that we have to keep improving revenues going forward.”
Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, the Minister said Government will intensify efforts to reduce the cost of doing business through a structured roadmap already approved by Cabinet.
“But an issue that we want to really focus on in the second half of this year is on lowering the cost of doing business. The President and Cabinet has already approved a roadmap that will follow sector by sector,” he said.
Agriculture will be the first sector to benefit, with specific measures to ease input and operational costs for farmers.
“In the next week or so, we are going to make announcements regarding the agricultural sector. We will provide relief to our dairy farmers, relief to those in livestock and also relief to those in the food supply chain for livestock in the sector.”
“So we want to start with that sector, get that going and get a very good blueprint example of how to do this. And then once we are done with agriculture, we will move on to the tourism sector and we will keep going right until December.”
Prof Ncube reiterated that the ultimate objective is to foster a competitive business environment that enables the private sector to lead economic growth.
“We want to lower the cost of doing business so as to improve profitability for various businesses and really make sure that our economy is private sector-led as opposed to Government-driving business. It should be business driving the economy.”
“So our job is to lower the cost of doing business, as the President has instructed and that is what we have been doing,” said Prof Ncube.
