Agric, Mining to Anchor 2024 Economic Growth

Zimbabwe’s economy is expected to grow by 5,3 percent this year and slow down to 3,5 percent in 2024 due to the negative impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon. (File Picture)

Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter

MINING and agriculture are projected to remain key drivers of Zimbabwe’s economic growth this year despite the adverse impact of external shocks and the potential negative effect of the El Nino weather phenomenon, economic commentators have said. This comes as the Government’s major policy interventions have restored stability, upended by inflation and exchange rate volatility in the first half of the year while the extension of the multicurrency beyond 2025, until 2030, has also boosted confidence. To underpin macroeconomic stability, authorities rolled out a coterie of policy measures, among them a tight monetary policy that saw record interest rates, transfer of external payment obligations from the central bank to the Treasury and payment of royalties, duties, and taxes in local currency to improve its appeal. In recent years, mining and agriculture have largely been pivotal in sustaining the country’s economy, which in 2022 grew by 6,5 percent while last year’s economic growth stood at 6,5 percent. Zimbabwe’s economic growth is expected to fall to 3,5 percent in 2024 from 5,5 percent this year, mainly due to an anticipated drought caused by El Niño, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube said last month. ReadMore