The president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa has appealed for financial assistance to enable the country to attain the envisioned upper-middle-income status by 2030.
This passionate call for international funding comes after Zimbabwe has failed to secure new loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB) and the Paris Club due to outstanding foreign debts of $8bn (£6.2bn).
Addressing the Africa forum on sustainable development in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe this week, Mnangagwa said:
Our five-year national development plans running up to 2063 will endeavour to achieve an upper-middle-income status by 2030.
The need to remain alive to the shocks of drought and the impact of climate change through the necessary social safety nets cannot be overemphasised. We appeal for multilateral support to augment our efforts.
His pleas come when Zimbabwe is facing unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis characterised by a deficit in food, fuel, power, medicines, foreign currency and cash.
Mnangagwa added that the lack of enough financial resources was hamstringing not only Zimbabwe but Africa’s efforts to attain sustainable development goals.
The plea also comes amid reports that Zimbabwe is losing billion of United States dollars every year du to corruption. Recently, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission reported that former and current leaders externalised US$7 billion.
More: The Guardian