By Pride Sakupwanya
President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the country’s economic development is being frustrated by sanctions and debt overhang.
Speaking during the second structured dialogue on arrears clearance and debt resolution meeting in Harare Thursday, President Mnangagwa said the county keeps on soaring high regardless of sanctions.
“As you are aware, Zimbabwe has been under various forms of punitive sanctions for more than two decades. Our country has demonstrated great resilience, despite the deleterious impact of these sanctions on our economic, social and political landscape”, Mnangagwa said.
He said the country’s debt overhang is thwarting new lines of credit from international organisations.
“However, as we do so, Zimbabwe’s debt overhang continues to weigh down heavily on our development efforts. We have no access to new lines of credit, including from the multilateral banks, such as the World Bank Group. The Zimbabwean Government and the African Development Bank Group agreed therefore, to put this Structured Dialogue Platform in place, to provide space for constructive and structured dialogue on arrears clearance and debt resolution,” he said
In its commitment, Mnangagwa said the government made strides to compensate former white farmers after the land reform act of 2000.
“The first aspect relates to Economic Reforms. The second is on governance issues while the third relates to our commitment to a sustainable land tenure system. The compensation of former commercial farmers for improvements made on farms as well as the resolution of cases of farms affected during the Land Reform, which were covered by Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs) will also be considered under the third pillar.
“Our aim going forward is to produce outcomes that will lead to a High-Level Debt Resolution Forum. The issues, perspectives and recommendations raised by both stakeholders and partners during the December meeting were invaluable. The consensus and broad endorsement of a Central Pin Strategy, which is composed of three pillars, gives good guidance on the way forward,” said the President
