The government of Zimbabwe today hosted a second structured dialogue platform with its creditors and development partners to discuss an engagement plan for Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance and debt resolution process.
President Mnangagwa opened the meeting.
The President’s address underlined Zimbabwe’s sovereign decision to forge ahead with her recovery in spite of absence of international support. To that end, Zimbabwe looked inward, while looking at internal economic reforms, governance system & resolving outstanding land issues.
Zimbabwe’s president said that the government was committed to a plan to clear more than $6 billion of external debt arrears, including compensating former commercial white farmers and making token payments to creditors.
“Zimbabwe’s debt overhang continues to weigh down heavily on our development efforts,” Emmerson Mnangagwa said, as part of a meeting on the southern African country’s debt that was open to reporters. “We have no access to new lines of credit, including from the multilateral banks, such as the World Bank Group.”
Also present was the former President of Mozambique, Mr. Joaquim Chissano. As facilitator, Mr. Chissano who led the dialogue process on broad economic and governance issues constraining arrears clearance and debt resolution. Since arriving in Zimbabwe earlier this week, Chissano has been consulting with various stakeholders, including development partners, and representatives of the private sector and civil society. The former Head of state also met with EU ambassadors as who welcomed the initiative and are ready to engage in the dialogue.
Championing the process is Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank Group, who was invited to play this role by the Zimbabwean president in 2022. Adesina has since dedicated resources to help the authorities ensure a successful process.
The meeting follows an initial dialogue held on the 1st of December 2022 involving the government and various stakeholders.
