Zim to meet economic targets

Tinomuda Chakanyuka/Wilson Dakwa, Sunday News Reporters
ZIMBABWE is still on course to meet its economic targets this year including a growth of 3,7 percent in spite of some economic saboteurs who are working to ensure that the economy crashes to 2008 levels, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa has said.

Speaking in Bulawayo on Friday evening, Minister Chinamasa said economic growth will still be achieved as significant growth has been recorded in agriculture, mining and tourism.

“With regards to the nation’s economy, all the economic indicators are pointing upwards. We are coming out of deflation and beginning to experience modest inflation and as of August, annual inflation was at 0,14 percent and the Sadc benchmark is about 3,7 percent,” he said while officially opening the 10th edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel Expo which ends today.

Minister Chinamasa said growth in the agriculture, mining and tourism sectors were catalysing the attainment of the 3,7 percent economic growth target for this year. In the agriculture sector, Cde Chinamasa said the country had witnessed significant increase in maize, soya-beans, sugar-cane, cotton and small grain production which ensured the country was food secure.

He said to date the Government has paid $360 million to maize farmers and $600 million to tobacco farmers as an indication of improved production and a growing economy.

“Crop production has since increased as witnessed by the soya beans, sugar-cane, maize and small grain production statistics. This is why a lot of foreign currency is going towards purchasing equipment to store the maize which we are buying from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). Due to the progression and contribution of the agriculture sector; we are projecting a growth of 3,7 percent by the end of the year,” he said.

Added the minister, “To date, we have paid $360 million to maize farmers and huge amounts to cotton farmers. Tobacco farmers this year earned $600 million and that is an indicator that the economy is growing. In the mining sector Minister Chinamasa said gold production had gone up from 12 000 tonnes in 2013 to 22 800 tonnes last year, with artisanal miners contributing 47 percent. Gold production has gone up, we have recorded growth in coal production, the same in diamonds. Each week $5 million is being paid out to artisanal gold miners. That’s a sign that we are growing our economy,” he said.

In the tourism sector Minister Chinamasa said tourist arrivals increased from 2,1 million in 2015 to 2,2 million last year, yet another sign that the country’s economy is on the mend. He said such success stories should be told to the world as a way of marketing the country as a tourist destination, in the face of vilification from hostile international media.

“Those are the stories that should be told to the outside world. We receive a lot of negative press and such stories are ignored.

“I call on all the international buyers who are here to go back home and tell the true Zimbabwean story,” he said.

Minister Chinamasa said there was need for the country to engage in economic diplomacy as a way of aggressively marketing the country’s tourism products. He, however, added that the country’s tourism sector was not competitive internationally, owing to the adoption of the US Dollar which he said has seen most tourism packages being priced out of the reach of most people.

“Zimbabwe is not very competitive internationally due to the migration it took from the Zimbabwean dollar to the United States dollar because the adoption cost us dearly. We need to work hard to ensure we reduce the cost of doing business in all the sectors of the economy,” he said.

He said the country needed to work on opening new tourism markets in Asia and Europe as well as promote domestic tourism.

Minister Chinamasa said the Government was also considering granting free air navigation and landing rights to airlines that do not have routes into Zimbabwe. The move, he said, seeks to consolidate the Government’s open air policy aimed at luring more airlines to land in Zimbabwe.

The Finance Minister said the Government was also considering introducing a tourism revolving fund to help capitalise players in the sector. Minister Chinamasa said the Government would also renew, by another year, Statutory Instruments which offer duty rebates on various goods for players in the sector.

“Operators have continued to benefit from Statutory Instrument 105 of 2017 which offers duty rebate on capital goods for renovations and modernisation and Statutory Instrument 146 of 2016 which offers duty rebate on safari vehicles. These two SIs will expire on 31 December 2017 but will be extended for another year through the 2018 National Budget. The duty rebates will also apply to those in the car rental sector because they also cater for the tourism sector,” he said.