Deputy Finance and Investment Promotion Minister David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa has said Zimbabwe should find new and innovative ways to mobilise finance for the country’s development.
NewsDay reported that Treasury has estimated that Zimbabwe requires US$40 billion in capital funding to reach upper middle-income status by 2030.
However, the Government has struggled to raise the required resources partly due to arrears with foreign lenders and depressed foreign direct investment due to exchange rate distortions and policy inconsistency, among other factors.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (ZEDCON) in Victoria Falls, Mnangagwa said:
As a country, we need to explore new financing models, leverage private capital, and create new partnerships between the government, the private sector, and civil society.
Our research and academic institutions must also be a big part of that conversation, by delivering actionable and practicable recommendations from their academic and research work.
… we need to intensify our efforts in mobilising resources within the country, as we are all aware that currently our capacity for external financing is limited for many reasons.
In this regard, up-scaling domestic resource mobilisation initiatives remain critical in order to adequately fund NDS 1 programmes and projects during the second half of the National Development Strategy period.
Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Institute research fellow Prosper Ziyadhuma said public-private partnerships (PPPs), can be vehicles for resource mobilisation for infrastructure development. He said:
A well-defined legal and regulatory framework that outlines the rights, responsibilities, and risk allocation of all parties involved is crucial.
Project preparation and feasibility studies are preconditions for the contract for both parties. PPPs require appropriate allocation of risks between the public and private sectors.
Treasury is using ZEDCON to formulate the 2024 National Budget.
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