This comes as Treasury has estimated that Zimbabwe needs
US$40 billion in capital funding to reach upper middle-income status by 2030.
It has struggled to raise the required resources.
The failure emanates from the country’s huge public debt
estimated at over US$20 billion, exchange rate distortions, policy
inconsistency, growing social needs and the dispute over August’s general
elections results, all of which has made investors shy away from Zimbabwe.
“As a country, we need to explore new financing models,
leverage private capital, and create new partnerships between government, the
private sector, and civil society. Our research and academic institutions must
also be a big part of that conversation, by delivering actionable and
practicable recommendations from their academic and research work,” Mnangagwa
said at the Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (Zedcon) in Victoria Falls
yesterday.
Considering the vital link between financial resource
mobilisation and economic development, Mnangagwa was enthused that the
conference had brought together all critical stakeholders.
“This includes “policymakers, the private sector, and
researchers and academics and representatives of civic society organisations,
development partners and members of the fourth estate, to examine ways and
means to grow and expand Zimbabwe’s development finance sources in a
sustainable and creative ways.”
He said Zimbabwe’s diverse financing frameworks should be
explored to find innovative solutions aimed at growing and expanding the
economy.
“…we need to intensify our efforts in mobilising resources
within the country, as we are all aware that currently our capacity for
external financing is limited for many reasons. In this regard, up-scaling
domestic resource mobilisation initiatives remains critical in order to
adequately fund NDS 1 programmes and projects during the second half of the
National Development Strategy period.”
Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Institute
research fellow Prosper Ziyadhuma said one such area of resource mobilisation
for infrastructure was public private partnerships (PPPs).
“A well-defined legal and regulatory framework that
outlines the rights, responsibilities, and risk allocation of all parties
involved is crucial which Zimbabwe has a well-defined framework. Project
preparation and feasibility studies are preconditions for the contract for both
parties. PPPs require appropriate allocation of risks between the public and
private sectors,” he said.
“PPP projects must demonstrate financial viability to
attract private sector investment. This requires robust financial modelling,
realistic revenue projections, and an assessment of the project’s ability to
generate sufficient cash flows.”
Ziyadhuma said PPPs
must involve key stakeholders, such as local communities, affected parties, and
civil society. “Strong governance mechanisms, including monitoring and
evaluation frameworks, are necessary to ensure compliance, accountability, and
performance of all parties involved,” he added. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment