Zimbabwe’s economic trend which has resulted in the devaluation of the US Dollar should be worrisome to the government according to the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD)
The organisation was describing signs of a collapsing economy in Zimbabwe.
“As the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development reported a revenue surplus of RTGS$443.1 million during the first quarter of 2019, it is important to remember that the revenue target was set in United States dollars (US$) prior to the devaluation of the RTGS dollar in February 2019 when the government introduced the foreign exchange interbank rate,” the coalition says.
“Using the interbank rate of US$1:RTGS$4.88, the RTGS$1.95 billion collected during the first quarter of 2019 is equivalent to US$408.8 million giving a budget deficit of US$1.39 billion dollars against the targeted US$1.8 billion. This should instead be a worrisome trend for the government.”
The Debt oriented coalition says the government should come up with measures for growing the economy to avoid further decline as the economy continue plummeting.
“There is not much to expect in terms of public service delivery in Zimbabwe, having registered an expenditure of RTGS$1.5 billion during the first quarter of 2019. This translates to US$315 million.says the organisation.
“Divided by the country’s population estimated at 14 million, each Zimbabwean was entitled to US$22 during the first 3 months of 2019. This is an indication of a shrinking economy.”
The latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook projects that Zimbabwe’s 2019 growth rate will be negative at -5.5 per cent.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, however, is optimistic that the country’s economy shall grow by 3,1 per cent which is lower than 2018 estimated growth rate of 4 per cent. This goes against a background of the rising inflation currently taking place in the African nation.
The World Bank projects that Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Would grow by 3,7 per cent this year.