AFDB team in Zimbabwe to discuss debt restructuring plan

“Zimbabwe’s senior officials meet with the country’s development partners and creditors at 3rd Structured Dialogue Platform Meeting in Harare on 30 March 2023 – facilitated by the African Development Bank”

HARARE - Zimbabwe moved closer to resolving its debt issues last week as it hosted the third debt and arrears clearance structured dialogue platform meeting with development partners and creditors.

Dr. Luisa Diogo, the former prime minister of Mozambique, served as the meeting’s facilitator. Diogo is the lead technical advisor to Joaquim Chissano, the former president of Mozambique and a high-level facilitator of the process.

Last year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as a champion of the country’s arrears clearance and debt resolution process.

On Thursday this week, a technical meeting—which took place at Manna Resorts in Harare—followed two similar meetings held in Harare in December and February.

The meeting brought together three sector working groups: two that had earlier been established—one on macroeconomic growth and stability reforms, and another on governance reforms—as well as a third new sector working group on land tenure reforms, compensation of former farm owners, and the resolution of Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs).

The meeting brought clarity to the reform agenda of the three-sector working groups. Participants agreed that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-monitored program was a key component of the economic reform sector working group.

The Zimbabwean government has identified five priority areas that would require funding, namely education, social protection, health, agriculture, and climate change.

African Development Bank Country Manager for Zimbabwe Moono Mupotola said it was possible that the Zimbabwe Fund for Development could serve as a potential vehicle in support of the social sector.

“The African Development Bank is proposing to lead the process to map out the social sector development needs based on the implementation of an IMF staff-monitored program,” Mupotola said. She added: “The objective would be to understand where current social investments are being made and where the gaps are.”

Mupotola proposed the setting up of a working group to pursue this initiative. She said the African Development Bank would count on input from all development partners, and the team would then develop a concept note on the purpose and structure of a new Zimbabwe Fund for Development.

Ncube said the government would willingly embrace this as an option along with existing resources to fund such a program. He said the Zimbabwean government would continue to work closely with the African Development Bank.

The meeting also brought clarity on governance reforms, articulating the critical role of the Zimbabwean constitution and the six pillars contained in Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 covering the 2021-2025 period.

In response to the indicators for the governance reforms matrix, participants agreed on the indicators in three areas—justice delivery, electoral reforms, and peace and security.

They reached a consensus on the need to streamline the governance indicators and to focus on concrete, achievable, and deliverable sub-indicators. They also resolved to work towards rationalizing sub-indicators and dwell on scores rather than on indices themselves. Development partners committed to consulting their capitals to conclude on this critical issue.

The sector working groups are made up of joint teams from both the Zimbabwean government and various development partners, including international organizations.

Ncube also informed the meeting that the government had presented a payment plan to former farm owners based on the Global Compensation Deed. He said it was awaiting their response through a referendum. He explained that the government would fast-track the resolution of BIPPAs and engage ambassadors of the affected countries.

The next structured dialogue platform meeting will take place in Harare in late April/early May and will be followed by a high-level debt resolution forum meeting next month.

GAROWE ONLINE