Against the backdrop of a debt conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, the nation is poised to get back to global finance. Speaking on Monday, president Emmerson Mnangagwa hosting the conference aims to hold talks on debt arrears, debt restructuring and more as they are slowing down the nation’s growth.
Zimbabwe president, Emmerson Mnangagwa has renewed his commitment to return the Southern African country to global finance.
The nation on Monday is hosting a conference of creditors and finance executives to discuss ambitious goals to clear debt arrears and restructure $12.7 billion in external debt, aiming to eventually tap international capital markets for the first time in more than two decades.
From the era of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s debt pile accounts for 81% of gross domestic product, and clearing it will be a tough challenge for a country that has faced numerous financial distress in recent decades from repeated bouts of hyperinflation to multiple attempts to launch new currency regimes.
Prosper Chitambara, a Harare-based independent economist, explained that « the issue of arrears is a major albatross around Zimbabwe’s neck. » He added that paying off arrears is essential to fast forward the nation’s growth as it will be cheaper to borrow and easier to attract investment.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) president, Akinwumi Adesina, will be present at the one-day meeting in Harare, along with creditors, development groups and private sector representatives.
Zimbabwe has faced economic sanctions in two decades from numerous international entities but as the countries sought alternative routes to its success, some of these parties have begun scrapping off the sanctions.
