How Zimbabwe will use the US$1 billion from the IMF

In the realm of the education sector, we want to use these funds to build at least eight new boarding schools in rural areas, building about one school per rural province.

These boarding schools are vital to deliver education and a better quality of life for rural children in particular for low-income groups.

We will be equipping these schools, and others, with state-of-the-art solar power facilities to back up power from the normal grid power.

Crucially, these funds will be used to support emergency measures for the most vulnerable members of society, through what we call productive social safety nets.

Cash/food for Work Schemes will be set up to encourage those who can work to work, whilst utilising the same schemes to support the elderly and disabled who perhaps are unable or can no longer integrate into the workforce.

It is of the utmost importance, however, that these funds provide a return; the SDRs must grow and as they grow they drive the economy in the process.

There are three sub-sectors within Zimbabwe’s productive sector which require urgent investment and upgrading: agriculture, industry/manufacturing and mining.

Zimbabwe’s agriculture is historically the backbone of our economy. For many it is all they know. So, we must invest in efficiency, technology, and improving yields.

One initiative is to support a “Revolving Fund”, which will support Flora culture, which is the growing and selling of flowers, blueberries, and macadamia, among other cash crops or water culture crops.

These tend to be export crops with a decent return on investment. Profits can then be used to repay debts and further invest in the most advanced techniques and technologies.

We will also be investing in smallholder irrigation schemes to again support our vulnerable farmers who have been hit hard by Covid. There are dams, water bodies and water systems which must be climate proofed and upgraded for modern agriculture for smallholder farmers.

Within industry, manufacturing is vital in terms of job creation. We want to set up a “re-tooling fund” that will enhance our value chains around cotton, leather, pharmaceuticals and agro-processing.

These are industries which used to thrive in Zimbabwe, but over the years, crucial components of the value chain have been lost. It is in these carefully mapped out areas where we must invest.

These core components of a healthy industrial economy, the missing links of the value chain, will be brought back to life.

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