IMF says Zimbabwe has the best performing economy in SADC

Zimbabwe has the best performing economy in the Southern African region this year beating regional giants South Africa and oil-rich Angola by far.

Its growth is estimated at 6% tallying with that of Tanzania which has been one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.

The Ministry of Finance projects Zimbabwe’s growth for this year to be 6.6%.

Closely behind Zimbabwe and Tanzania is Zambia with 5.8%, the Democratic Republic of Congo with 5.3%, followed by Eswatini at 4.3%, and Mauritius at 4%. 

Seychelles is at 3.9%, Comoros at 3.8% together with Madagascar,followed by Namibia at 3.6%, Mozambique at 2.5%, Malawi at 2.4% and Angola at 2.1%.

South Africa lags way behind at 1.1% just below Lesotho with 1.4% while Botswana which has been considered one of the most stable economies on the continent for decades is expected to have a negative growth of -0.9%.

Zimbabwe’s growth is remarkable as the country does not have access to any concessional financing from institutions like the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank and other international financiers .

At home, however, this growth does not currently mean much to citizens as the country continues to have one of the highest inflation rates in the world.

Zimbabwe inflation was pegged at 82.7% in September but is expected to drop to between 20 and 30 % by the end of this year.

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