WB commends sustained economy growth
ECONOMIC activity in Zimbabwe has accelerated over the last couple of years resulting in the country becoming the fastest-growing economy in SADC over the past three years, the World Bank has said.
World Bank Zimbabwe senior country economist, Mr Victor Steenbergen said at the launch of the Zimbabwe Economic Update yesterday that Zimbabwe’s economy had the fastest growth in SADC in 2021, 2022, and so far, in 2023, where its growth rate is “still higher than in many SADC economies”, except Mozambique.
In 2023, Zimbabwe’s economic growth is estimated at 4,5 percent.
“These growth dynamics were driven by continued expansion in agricultural output due to abundant rains and resilience-building,” reads part of the ZEU released yesterday by the bank.
According to the World Bank, the recent policy tightening has improved Zimbabwe’s macroeconomic stability and the country’s economy has seen a strong rebound since the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of that growth is a result of the rebound of the tourism sector, following the easing of Covid-19-related restrictions.
Higher economic growth rates were also supported by elevated commodity prices last year and this year.
In his opening remarks at the event, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said the findings of ZEU were consistent with what the Second Republic has been reporting regarding the performance of the economy “which has been robust and one of the fastest growing economies in our region”.
“This is probably one of the first times that we have agreed (with the World Bank) on the growth forecasts for 2024,” said Minister Ncube.
◆ Full story on herald.co.zw