Online Reporter
Oliver Kazunga
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE should accelerate economic growth to between seven and eight percent annually, from the current five to six percent range, if the country is to remain on course to achieve Vision 2030 target of an upper-middle-income society,” Treasury has said.
In his remarks at the ongoing Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (ZEDCON) in Bulawayo this morning, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa said the growth acceleration would be a central focus of the conference, which is expected to provide policy recommendations for the 2027 National Budget and the implementation of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
He said the country could not achieve its 2030 aspirations without a significant improvement in economic growth.
“The ultimate objective is to implement evidence-based policies to elevate economic growth from the current 5 to 6 percent per annum to 7 to 8 percent per annum towards realising Vision 2030 aspiration of a prosperous and an empowered upper middle-income society by 2030,” said Deputy Minister Mnangagwa.
He said the conference had been positioned as a technical platform for developing practical policies capable of accelerating economic growth and national development.
And thus Treasury was seeking empirical research that could be translated directly into policy, rather than theoretical recommendations without clear implementation pathways.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said ZEDCON had become an important part of the national budgeting process, with research presented at the conference expected to help shape Treasury’s fiscal priorities and expenditure decisions.
“The technical research papers to be presented here, over the next three days will set the foundation for policy discourse necessary to guide Treasury’s fiscal priorities and national expenditure decisions,” he said.
This year’s conference was being held under the theme “Smart Infrastructure for an Upper Middle-Income Society”, reflecting Government’s view that infrastructure investment will be central to raising productivity and competitiveness.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said transport, energy and digital infrastructure directly affected the cost of doing business and the country’s competitiveness.
In this context, he noted that Zimbabwe could not attain upper-middle-income status without shifting towards integrated, technology-driven infrastructure under NDS2.
“If our transport networks lag, our transportation costs rise. If our energy grid is unreliable, our manufacturing margins diminish as well as our regional competitiveness,” he said.
The conference is expected to examine smart-grid management, renewable and waste-to-energy generation, as well as technology-enabled urban planning.
The Government also expects research from the conference to inform the development of greenfield projects, including the proposed Bulawayo Special Economic Zone.
