US$100bn economy attainable: Mafukidze

target would require the economy to grow by at least 10 percent a year. But with the growth projections for this year being revised downwards to 5,6 percent, and with no end in sight to the liquidity challenges facing the economy, the US$100 billion economy was beginning to look like another pipe dream.
Mr Mafukidze said the target could still be reached to the extent that key economic imperatives were maintained. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Institute of Internal Auditors annual conference in Victoria Falls last week.
“As a country, we are going through seasons. We need people who will stand up to their beliefs. As long as we maintain consensus for the US$100 billion economy it will be achievable,” he said. Presenting the mid-term budget, Finance Minister Tendai Biti downgraded the country’s projected growth this year from 9,4 percent to 5,6 percent. He said the buoyant expectations and ambitious targets of the 2012 Budget had been systematically devalued by a number of downside risks, including a poor rainy season last year, policy inconsistencies and uncertainties which undermine investor confidence, lack of capital and the absence of alternative financing instruments, and revenue underperformance, among other factors. In his presentation to the Institute of Internal Auditors conference, Mr Mafukidze said there was need for both Government and the private sector to focus on critical issues such as energy and transport infrastructure, foreign direct investment, value addition and speedy restructuring of the State enterprises and parastatals.
Both the Government and the private sector have made their commitments to the US$100 billion economy by 2040, with the former recently announcing plans to raise power output to 10 000 megawatts, which would be required for an economy of that size.
Since its inception, the US$100 billion economy by 2040 goal has become a focal point for business and economic minds, with the potential to ignite a socio-economic revolution.