Zim to host economic convention

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter

ZIMBABWE will in August host an international convention that will be addressed by local and foreign experts and will help formulate policies that will assist Government attain Vision 2030.

The International Convention on “Zimbabwe’s Economic Growth Strategy: Current Experiences and Way Forward”, is being organised by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in collaboration with various stakeholders and is expected to become an annual event. The inaugural event will be held in the resort town of Victoria Falls and will run from August 10-12.

“The objective of the Convention is for stakeholders to engage and deliberate holistically on issues that will impact Zimbabwe’s growth strategies so as to make them more innovative and transformative,” reads a statement from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

“The convention, which is poised to become an annual event, will provide evidence based policy analysis which will contribute to the formulation of innovative growth strategies and policies that should contribute to the achievement of the National Vision 2030. The convention will bring together experts from around the world to discuss and analyse Zimbabwe’s growth strategies and to proffer solutions and recommendations.”

The solutions and recommendations are expected to be in line with broad pillars that include; informal sector development and poverty reduction; industrialisation and trade policy; public and private investments and creation of an enabling environment for business, monetary and exchange rate policy and fiscal policy reforms.

The country’s economic growth policy is espoused in the National Development Strategy 1 that has seen positive developments in various sectors of the economy.

Various institutions like the IMF and World Bank have projected positive economic growth for the country with contributions from the speakers at the convention expected to enhance the development policies already being implemented.

The Ministry has already invited persons or organisations interested in addressing the convention to submit their papers for presentation which are expected to address the thematic areas for the convention and be policy and solution-oriented, demonstrating empirical analysis or evidence based grounding.