ABIDJAN-In a significant stride for Zimbabwe’s economic revitalization, Hon. Prof. Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion, led a high-level delegation to Abidjan on 30 March 2026. The delegation’s primary objective was to engage with Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), to galvanize support for Zimbabwe’s Arrears Clearance and Debt Resolution (AC & DR) Process. This strategic move underscores Zimbabwe’s commitment to re-engaging with international financial institutions and bolstering its economic recovery trajectory.

The visit provided a platform for Minister Ncube to participate in the Strategic Ministerial Dialogue on Debt Sustainability and Financing Africa’s Development Priorities. The dialogue emphasized the imperative of strengthening domestic resource mobilization through digitalization, enhancing public financial management systems, and promoting transparency and accountability in debt reporting. These measures are critical for Zimbabwe as it seeks to optimize its resource utilization and attract sustainable investments.

A key takeaway from the dialogue was the call for prudent debt management, innovative financing instruments, and stronger partnerships to mitigate rising debt vulnerabilities while safeguarding critical development spending. Minister Ncube’s participation in this dialogue highlights Zimbabwe’s proactive approach to addressing its debt challenges and fostering sustainable economic growth.

On the sidelines of the Abidjan engagements, Minister Ncube attended the launch of the Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook 2026 Report as a panellist. The report painted a promising picture of Africa’s economic resilience, with a real GDP growth of 4.2% in 2025, surpassing the global average of 3.1%. Growth is projected at 4.3% in 2026 and 4.5% in 2027, with GDP per capita growth standing at 1.9%.

The report’s findings underscore Africa’s potential as a growth hub, notwithstanding risks from debt pressures and external shocks. It recommended coordinated policy action, structural reforms, and targeted investments in job creation, social protection, and human capital development to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth across the continent.

Minister Ncube’s engagement in Abidjan is a testament to Zimbabwe’s commitment to leveraging international partnerships and expertise to drive its economic agenda. The country’s participation in high-level dialogues and strategic engagements is crucial for attracting investments, clearing debt arrears, and fast-tracking economic recovery.

The outcomes of the Abidjan engagements are expected to inform Zimbabwe’s policy direction, particularly in areas of debt management, investment promotion, and economic diversification. As Zimbabwe charts its path towards sustainable development.

In conclusion, Minister Ncube’s Abidjan visit underscores Zimbabwe’s resolve to engage proactively with international financial institutions and development partners. By prioritizing debt sustainability, economic resilience, and inclusive growth, Zimbabwe is positioning itself for a brighter economic future.

By Staff Reporter

When Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, rose to present the 2026 National Budget, the mood was markedly different from the crisis-laden budget statements of the past. Gone was the defensive tone that once characterised fiscal announcements in an economy battling hyperinflation, currency collapse and widening deficits.

In its place was a message of consolidation — one that positioned confidence, coordination and continuity as central pillars of economic policy.

The 2026 Budget did not arrive in isolation. It followed months of sustained macroeconomic stability, robust debate at the 2026 Pre-Budget Seminar in Bulawayo, and a growing consensus among economists and industry leaders that Zimbabwe had crossed a critical threshold: from stabilisation to strategy.

A Budget Anchored in Stability

At the heart of the 2026 Budget is a near-balanced fiscal position. Government projected revenues of ZiG288 billion against expenditures of ZiG290 billion, resulting in a modest deficit of ZiG3.2 billion, equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of GDP. For a country historically burdened by large fiscal imbalances, the symbolism is powerful.

“This budget is about consolidating gains,” Ncube said during his presentation, noting that fiscal discipline had become a non-negotiable cornerstone of government policy.

The numbers reflect a deliberate shift away from deficit-driven growth and toward credibility-based economic management — a framework increasingly favoured across Southern Africa as governments grapple with rising debt and tightening global financial conditions.

Revenue Performance and the Tax Efficiency Debate

One of the more notable endorsements of government’s fiscal stance emerged during the pre-budget consultations. Dr Cornelius Dube, Chief Economist at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), highlighted that Zimbabwe’s revenue performance has remained broadly aligned with economic growth.

Using the internationally recognised “tax points” metric — which measures how GDP growth translates into tax revenue — Dube noted that Zimbabwe consistently records ratios of around 1.1, well within the 1.1 to 1.3 range considered appropriate for developing economies.

“This shows Treasury’s capacity to collect revenue commensurate with growth,” Dube said.

The 2026 Budget builds on this performance by prioritising efficiency over expansion of the tax base. Rather than introducing aggressive new taxes, Treasury focused on improving compliance, closing leakages and refining underperforming revenue streams.

Presumptive tax — long a point of contention between government and the informal sector — received particular attention.

Acknowledging weak compliance, Ncube defended the earlier decision to reduce rates, arguing that lower, realistic taxes improve collection more effectively than punitive thresholds.

“If compliance is low, you adjust the rate,” he said. “That’s how you broaden the base,” said Ncube.

Monetary Stability as a Fiscal Asset

Perhaps the most transformative context for the 2026 Budget is the emergence of relative currency and price stability under the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) regime.

Inflation, which peaked at 271.7 percent in 2023, declined sharply to 32.7 percent by October 2025, according to ZimStat. Month-on-month inflation has moderated further, even turning negative in some periods — a development almost unthinkable just two years ago.

University of Zimbabwe economist Dr Carren Pindiriri described the shift as unprecedented.

“For the first time in a long time, people can keep local currency in the bank and retain value,” she said.

This stability has had tangible fiscal benefits. Predictable prices have improved expenditure planning, reduced the cost of government procurement and strengthened Treasury’s ability to meet obligations without resorting to inflationary financing.

The 2026 Budget reinforces this dynamic through continued coordination between Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) — a policy alignment that economists at the seminar widely credited for anchoring expectations.

Expenditure Priorities: Growth With Purpose

While fiscal restraint defines the budget’s framework, the allocation of spending reflects a strategic growth agenda.

Key priority areas include: Food security and agriculture, building on improved rainfall and productivity gains, Manufacturing and value addition, aligned with the National Development Strategy, Youth employment and skills development, responding to demographic pressures, and Infrastructure and social services, particularly health and education.

Rather than spreading limited resources thinly, the 2026 Budget adopts a targeted investment approach, seeking to crowd in private capital and enhance productivity.

This mirrors broader regional trends. Across Southern Africa, governments are increasingly positioning public spending as a catalyst — not a substitute — for private sector growth.

Debt, Re-engagement and Regional Positioning

Zimbabwe’s public and publicly guaranteed debt remains elevated, but its context has shifted. Following the rebasing of GDP, debt now stands at approximately 44.7 percent of GDP, a level that compares favourably with several regional peers.

More importantly, government has recommitted to arrears clearance and re-engagement with international creditors, a process viewed as essential for unlocking concessional financing and lowering the cost of capital.

Southern African economies face similar constraints. Zambia’s recent debt restructuring, for example, underscores the importance of fiscal transparency and policy consistency in restoring access to global markets.

In this environment, Zimbabwe’s disciplined 2026 Budget strengthens its credibility within regional and multilateral forums, including SADC, where macroeconomic convergence remains a shared objective.

Confidence: The Intangible Currency

Beyond fiscal tables and growth projections, the defining feature of the 2026 Budget is its emphasis on confidence — among businesses, consumers and investors.

At the pre-budget seminar, economists repeatedly stressed that Zimbabwe’s remaining challenge is not technical policy design, but public trust.

“The hesitation around the ZiG is often less about the currency itself and more about confidence in consistency,” Dube observed.

The budget addresses this indirectly through predictability: no abrupt policy reversals, no surprise taxes, and a clear commitment to rules-based management.

For the business community, this matters. Investment decisions hinge not only on returns, but on the reliability of the operating environment.

For Zimbabwe, restoring confidence in the ZiG may prove to be the most valuable investment of all.

Southern Africa Watching Closely

Zimbabwe’s fiscal trajectory is being closely monitored across the region. As South Africa grapples with weak growth, Namibia balances consolidation with social spending, and Malawi navigates inflationary pressures, Zimbabwe’s experience offers a relevant case study in post-stabilisation policy making.

The 2026 Budget does not claim perfection. Structural challenges remain, from informality to external financing constraints. Yet the shift in tone — from crisis response to strategic consolidation — signals a maturing policy framework.

From Seminar to Statement

In many respects, the 2026 Budget is the practical expression of ideas first debated at the pre-budget seminar: deeper policy coordination, realistic revenue mobilisation, disciplined spending and confidence-driven growth.

What distinguishes this budget is not radical reform, but consistency — a quality long absent from Zimbabwe’s fiscal history.

As Professor Ncube concluded in his address, stability is no longer the destination; it is the platform.

For Zimbabwe and its Southern African neighbours, the 2026 Budget suggests that when confidence becomes policy, growth becomes possible.

For more than two decades, Zimbabwe has stood as a stark case study in monetary collapse, with hyperinflation, currency resets and eroded public trust defining its economic narrative.

Today, however, policymakers argue that the introduction of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency marks a turning point not only for the country, but for resource-backed monetary reform in Southern Africa.

The country’s currency crisis has been a long-standing issue, dating back over two decades.

After years of hyperinflation, which peaked at 89.7 sextillion percent per month in November 2008, the Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL) was rendered practically worthless wiping out savings and collapsing economic activity.

By 2009, the country had no choice , abandoning the Zimbabwean dollar in 2009 in favor of a multi-currency regime, restoring price stability but surrendering monetary sovereignty to external currencies, primarily the United States dollar and South African Rand.

The launch of the ZiG  by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in April 2024 was meant to mark a new era of economic stability.

Zimbabwe’s sixth major currency adjustment since the 2000s was designed to restore monetary sovereignty — one of the key challenges of the multi-currency era that began in 2009.

Backed by gold reserves and other mineral assets, the currency was introduced at ZiG13.50 to the U.S. dollar.

As of late 2025, the exchange rate had remained relatively stable at around ZiG26.7 to the US dollar, significantly narrowing the gap between official and parallel market rates.

This was meant to revive faith in local money and bring inflation under control.

Zimbabwe has finally achieved what had eluded the country for decades – a stable local currency, Finance minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said.

Ncube attributes this stability to strict fiscal discipline, cash budgeting and the government’s refusal to finance deficits through central bank borrowing.

“This is the first time we have enjoyed domestic currency stability since 2003,” Professor Ncube told Parliament during the 2026 budget presentation, underscoring a deliberate shift toward consistency and discipline

“The Zimbabwe dollar was unstable; we abandoned it for the multi-currency system dominated by the US dollar, which we do not control,” adding that consistency in policy implementation has been key.

Inflation data supports the claim. According to ZimStat, month-on-month inflation turned negative in September and October 2025, while annual ZiG inflation declined to 32.7 percent, down from triple-digit levels recorded in recent years.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has since commended Zimbabwe for its impressive economic performance in 2025 citing improved macroeconomic stability.

Following its 2025 Article IV Consultation, IMF Resident Representative Dr. Daniel Gurara noted that inflation had eased and economic activity was picking up, driven largely by agriculture and mining.

“The stronger performance reflects a combination of favourable conditions in key sectors and ongoing efforts to strengthen macroeconomic stability through better policy coordination and tighter monetary management,” Dr. Gurara said.

“Inflation has eased, confidence is growing, and activity across sectors is picking up. Of course, risks remain from global uncertainty to climate shocks but the momentum is encouraging.”

The IMF noted that Zimbabwe’s economic growth for 2025 is now expected to exceed the earlier projection of six percent, driven by stronger-than-anticipated performance in agriculture and mining.

Dr. Gurara said the improved performance is also the result of sound macroeconomic management, including prudent fiscal policies, tighter monetary control, and enhanced revenue collection.

These measures have moderated inflation and helped rebuild business and consumer confidence.

“Going forward, maintaining fiscal discipline will be essential to consolidate recent gains, preserve stability, and create space for priority spending.

“Fiscal pressures, limited external financing, and climate vulnerabilities continue to pose challenges, but staying the course on reforms will ensure sustained and inclusive growth,” he emphasised.

Economist Dr. Zack Murerwa echoed the IMF’s positive outlook, describing the development as a reflection of the Second Republic’s steady reform trajectory and growing international credibility.

“This is a major vote of confidence in Zimbabwe’s economic direction. The key now is to sustain this momentum through continued engagement and re-engagement with global financiers and partners,” Dr. Murerwa said.

“The restored confidence in our economy must be preserved through consistency and policy discipline.”

The Article IV Mission involved extensive consultations with Professor Ncube, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr. John Mushayavanhu, and other senior government officials.

The IMF’s endorsement comes at a time Zimbabwe is intensifying its efforts to stabilise the currency, tame inflation, and attract new investment under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which lays the groundwork for achieving Vision 2030 and transforming the country into an upper middle-income economy.

A major milestone for Zimbabwe’s public accounts came with a revised GDP rebasing, which placed the economy at US$44.4 billion, making it the fifth-largest economy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This update captures growth in previously unaccounted activity — particularly in manufacturing, informal trade and services — and highlights silent economic dynamism that official statistics had previously missed.

Official and independent projections indicate that growth could reach around 6.6 percent in 2025, driven by higher agricultural output, record gold prices, and recovery in services and manufacturing.

This trend contrasts favourably with regional pressures and aligns Zimbabwe with Africa’s broader mid-cycle recovery.

For the Southern African region, Zimbabwe’s experience offers a closely watched experiment in whether resource-backed currencies can restore monetary credibility in economies scarred by inflation.