Zimbabwe's Economy Needs Seven Years To Recover

HARARE, May 01, 2009 - ZIMBABWE'S struggling economy will need to grow by at least eight percent each year for seven years to reach its 1998 levels, a top banking official has said.

 

Speaking at a Zimtrade Workshop, a banking official from ABC Banking Corporation Limited (ABC) said last year the economy shrunk by a staggering 10 percent.
"Zimbabwe's economy declined by at least 10 percent," he said. "There has been  no growth and the average has been about five percent which is quite poor to say the least."
He said the country now had the smallest economy in the region and had an average of US$3,5 billion from trade. Other countries such as Botswana had US$10 billion while Tanzania had US$13 billion in funds earmarked for growth, he said.
He said: "Zimbabwe has had 10 years of economic decline. Our economy has shrunk so much it will actually take a miracle to recover."
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said recently Zimbabwe had secured a USD 400 m credit line from African countries which will be given to business, which is currently operating at 10 percent of its capacity.
Western nations have shunned Zimbabwe's begging bowl to improve its economy, wrecked by political bickering and economic mismanagement for the past decade, insisting on the government to ensure there is rule of law and a stop of human rights abuses.
Zimbabwe is seeking USD 5 billion from the international community to repair its battered economy.
Although supermarkets have now stocked food on their shelves, most Zimbabweans are struggling to buy as the country is facing an estimated 95 percent un-employment rate