ABIDJAN – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decried difficult economic situation in Zimbabwe.
The organisation expressed this concern in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abidjan on Saturday.
“Zimbabwe’s economy is at a crossroad, the economic situation remains difficult; the post-hyper-inflation rebound has ended.
“The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth went down from ten and half per cent in 2012 to four and half per cent in 2013.
“This followed adverse weather conditions, weak demand for key exports and uncertainty of election year,’’ the statement said.
The statement stressed that the organisation’s observation was based on its third review of Zimbabwe’s performance under its Staff-Monitored Programme (SMP) arrangement.
It said that the organisation further observed that: “Credit and deposit growth have slowed down sharply, liquidity conditions are tight and the banking system remains weak.
“Fiscal pressures arose in early 2014 due to higher-than-budgeted wage increases and revenue shortfalls due to weakened economy.’’
The statement, however, said that the government was able meet its fiscal targets for the first half of 2014, following the implementation of revenue and expenditure measures.
It noted that the objective of the review was to strengthen the country’s external position as a prerequisite for arrears clearance, resumption of debt service and restored access to external financing. (NAN)
