More people believe Biti than IMF

More people believe Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s forecast that the Zimbabwean economy will grow by more than 9.3 percent this year than the International Monetary Fund’s prediction that the economy will slow down to 5.5 percent.

In an internet survey by The Insider in which people were asked- “The International Monetary Fund says Zimbabwe’s economic growth with decline to 5.5 percent this year. Finance Minister Tendai Biti says it will exceed 9.3 percent. Who do you believe?” – 52 percent said they believed Biti.

Only 12 percent believed the IMF while 36 percent said they did not believe both Biti and the IMF.

The IMF said last month Zimbabwe’s growth was likely to decelerate from 9 percent last year to 5.5 percent because of an inefficient composition of expenditure, rising vulnerabilities in the financial system, and the recent announcement of the fast-track indigenisation of the mining sector.

It said addressing these policy challenges in a timely manner could result in better growth outcomes for 2011 but the key downside risks included possible political instability and a fall in commodity prices.

Biti on the other hand predicted that the economy would grow by the more than expected 9.3 percent. “I genuinely believe the growth rate could be higher, mainly because of the strong performance of international commodity prices. The food crisis is helping us as we are in a surplus position in grains,” he said.

Zimbabwe has recorded positive growth since the formation of the inclusive government in 2009 when it grew by 6 percent after almost a decade of decline.

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