Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Zimbabwe has made significant progress on key economic reforms, resulting in the country experiencing a modest degree of macro-economic stability.
The Bretton Woods institution also noted that growth this year was recovering following a sharp slowdown in 2024 due to a devastating drought that lowered agricultural output by 15 percent.
Agriculture is one of Zimbabwe’s key economic sectors, along with mining, tourism and manufacturing.
Zimbabwe forecasts the economy to grow by 6 percent this year, following a constrained 2 percent expansion last year.
The domestic economy is expected to be driven by a recovery in agriculture, increased mining activity, and a boost in tourism this year.
Similarly, another multilateral lender African Development Bank, projects strong growth in Zimbabwe this year, 5,3 percent, while global research firm BMI sees a 4,9 percent expansion.
All projections point to solid growth in 2025, although slightly behind Treasury’s forecast.
IMF Mission Chief Mr Wojciech Maliszewski, after the IMF mission to Zimbabwe, acknowledged the progress the country has made, particularly on instituting more disciplined policies.
“The policies include halting and transferring to the Treasury the quasi-fiscal operations (QFOs) of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and tighter monetary policy despite fiscal pressures, and these have helped stabilise the local currency(ZiG) and reduce inflation,” he said in a statement.
The IMF staff team led by Mr Maliszewski visited Harare from June 4 to 18, 2025, to conduct the 2025 Article IV Consultation, and as part of the consultations, met President Mnangagwa, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube and other Government officials, parliamentarians, civil society and the private sector.
Mr Maliszewski said during the first half of 2025, better climate conditions and historically high gold prices have boosted agricultural and mining activity, strengthening the current account and contributing to the recovery, with growth projected at 6 percent in 2025.
“In thecontext of the requested SMP, IMF staff stands ready to resume discussions indue course once decisive steps have been taken by authorities to address thekey policy issues highlighted by the mission.
“International reengagement remains critical for debt resolution and arrears clearance, whichwould open the door for access to external financing.
“In this context, the authorities’ reengagement efforts, through the Structured DialoguePlatform, are key for attaining debt sustainability and gaining access to concessional external financing,” he said.
The IMF said it maintains an active engagement with Zimbabwe and continues to provide policy advice and extensive technical assistance in the areas of revenue mobilisation, expenditure control, financial supervision, debt management, and economic governance, as well as macroeconomic statistics.
The IMF noted that the gap between the WBWS and parallel market rates has narrowed significantly but remains at around 20 per cent.In this context, the mission said it welcomed the repeal of Statutory Instrument 81A of 2024, which had mandated the formal sector to use the WBWS rate in the pricingof goods and services, contributing to an increase in dollarisation and informality.
“To support the authorities’ stabilisation efforts, key Article IV recommendations include, in the near term, fiscal policy actions to centre on closing the financing gap without recourse to monetary financing and further domestic arrears buildup, while safeguarding social spending and delivering a durable fiscal adjustment in the longer term.
It said monetary and forex policy should focus on supporting a transition to a stable national currency, with an effective monetary policy framework and a market-determined exchange rate.
