Budget deficit to remain above $1bn

Source: Budget deficit to remain above $1bn | The Financial Gazette May 24, 2018

By Omega Ukama, Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWE’S budget deficit is set to remain above $1 billion despite government’s efforts to rein in fiscal spending, economists have said.

For years, a persistent fiscal deficit has been the underlying cause of macroeconomic instability in the country, with the previous administration’s fiscal indiscipline being cited as the main culprit.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, which took office in November last year after the resignation of Robert Mugabe, had expressed interest to deal with the problem first and foremost, but its efforts have not yet yielded any immediate results.

Research firm, BMI Research forecasts that the country’s fiscal deficit will come in at $1,4 billion, which is more than double government’s target of $672 million.