Zimbabwe has reached agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the implementation of economic reforms that would assist the southern African country in its efforts to reengage international lenders.
The agreement was reached on Wednesday between Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Finance and an IMF delegation that is visiting the southern African country.
“IMF staff and the Zimbabwean authorities have reached agreement on macroeconomic policies and structural reforms that can underpin a Staff Monitored Programme,” head of the IMF delegation Gene Leon said in a statement.
He said the Staff Monitored Programme, which would be monitored on a quarterly basis, aims to implement a coherent set of policies that can facilitate a return to macroeconomic stability.
“Successful implementation will assist in building a track record and facilitate Zimbabwe’s reengagement with the international community,” the IMF official said.
Under the agreement, policies will focus on eliminating the government’s double-digit fiscal deficit and adoption of reforms to allow market forces to drive the functioning of foreign exchange and other financial markets.
He noted that Zimbabwe is facing deep macroeconomic imbalances, with large fiscal deficits and significant distortions in foreign exchange and other markets, which are severely hampering the functioning of the economy.
In addition, Zimbabwe is facing the challenge of responding to the adverse effects on agriculture and food security of the El Nino-related drought as well as the devastation from Cyclone Idai, which destroyed a lot of infrastructure and displaced thousands of families in the east of the country.
JN/APA