Treasury starts consulting stakeholders on mid-term budget

HARARE - Treasury is in the process of consultations on the upcoming mid-term fiscal review and the 2022 Budget Strategy paper (BSP) from key stakeholders.

The mid-term fiscal policy review statement will give an outline of how the economy has performed in the first half of year, and what – if any – additional measures need to be put in place.

Key budgetary targets that will be under review in the upcoming mid-term fiscal policy review statement is Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube’s stated goal of preserving fiscal stability and other economic gains of the Second Republic with his ambitious spending programme expected to produce a small deficit of 1.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Overall measures announced in the 2021 National Budget are expected to drive Zimbabwe’s GDP growth this year by 7.4 percent.

One of the most important stakeholders that contributes to overall economic performance is the insurance and pensions industry, which typically has the capacity to fund economic requirements.

According to the 2021 National Budget, Zimbabwe has a growth ask of $116 billion, yet pension funds contributions as at December 2020 totalled $5.2 billion.

SEF Prospero Capital managing director Francois Molife, has said both financial institutions and pensions’ funds can play a role in ensuring that the economy is funded internally.

Zimbabwe’s overall GDP growth is expected to be mainly driven by growth in the following sectors: electricity and water (at 18.8 percent), agriculture and forestry (11.3 percent), mining (11 percent), and manufacturing (6.5 percent).