African Development Bank Group president Akinwumi Adesina was in Zimbabwe this week where he met President Emmerson Mnangagwa, G7 ambassadors, business leaders and government officials as he starts the process to resolve the country’s external debt.
The bullish Adesina, who has earned the moniker Africa’s optimist-in-chief, accepted the role as champion as Zimbabwe seeks to normalise relations with multilateral and bilateral creditors.
He believes the bank can help Zimbabwe the same way it assisted Sudan and Somalia working with international partners.
Adesina believes Zimbabweans have suffered enough and the heavy load the economy is carrying—US$14.5bn external debt—has to be removed.
There are some housekeeping issues that accompany the roadmap to the arrears clearance plan.
The buzzword in government offices should be reform—political, economic and governance.
That President Mnangagwa allowed Adesina to go ahead with the plan is not enough. The actions of his administration should tell Adesina that Zimbabwe is serious.
Why it has become difficult for the laws to be aligned to the constitution is a question the administration should answer.
The debt plan is under scrutiny as Zimbabwe heads to the 2023 elections. There are fears that reforms will be disregarded in favour of populism which has followed the economy like a shadow every time a poll looms.
We have in the past bottled up arrears clearance plans and the latest one should not be allowed to join the list of failed roadmaps that were strong on paper but failed to take Zimbabwe to the Promised Land.
Zimbabwe has embarked on reforms, notably cutting the cloth according to the size of the coat, which has reduced budget deficits. Government has also not borrowed from the central bank.
The roadmap needs buy-in from all the critical stakeholders for it to have ownership. That the debt situation is an albatross on the neck of the economy is clear. Zimbabweans have paid the price for the debt which has increased the country’s risk profile.
This has seen local banks accessing lines of credit at higher prices compared to counterparts in other African countries.
Zimbabwe’s huge external debt overhang has become a serious impediment to its socio-economic development and transformation agenda, according to the Arrears Clearance, Debt Relief and Restructuring strategy document.
With the support of the international community, IFIs and development partners, Zimbabwe needs to urgently clear its external debt arrears, be granted debt relief and restructuring, including accessing new concessional development support to effectively confront the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, sustainably grow the economy to create jobs and reduce poverty levels, the document said.
Zimbabwe is under scrutiny and the arrears and debt clearance roadmap is the best yardstick to measure its sincerity.
