TINASHE MAKICHI
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it will avail a US$10m grant to Zimbabwe, which will go towards the energy sector and supporting the youth and women, Business Times can report.
The grant will be used to strengthen the capacity of the Debt Management Office, Parliament of Zimbabwe and Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).
“We have a limited envelope of UA7.5m, approximately US$10m for three new projects,” AfDB country manager for Zimbabwe, Moono Mupotola said.
She added: “The first is the sustainable enterprise development project for youth and women which seeks to support youth and women empowerment through entrepreneurship and skills development. “Through this project the bank will foster aspects of private sector development and creation of successful decent employment opportunities and incomes, which are important in sustaining the economic recovery trajectory of the country.
“Second, is the Zimbabwe energy reform programme which seeks to support energy sector reforms in order to address shortages in power generation and to consolidate short-term gains for improved efficiency. A reliable electricity energy source has a direct bearing on national income, by ensuring uninterrupted production for sustained economic growth.
“Lastly the bank is also developing an institutional support for governance and public finance management to strengthen the capacity of the debt management office, Parliament of Zimbabwe and PRAZ.”
As a result, Mupotola said this will increase the government’s capacity to reduce poverty and sustain economic growth. In addition, the AfDB Zimbabwe office has over the past 10 years administered the US$140m Zimbabwe Multi-donor Trust Fund, also known as the ZimFund that has focused on the rehabilitation of infrastructure in the energy, as well as water and sanitation sectors.
Going forward the bank will be emphasising on a new strategy to support the government of Zimbabwe in its re-engagement process to clear arrears with various creditors.
“Therefore, our focus is to work closely with other international financial institutions, development partners and government in finding resolution to this challenge as well as, provide technical assistance,” Mupotola said.
The lender’s board of directors recently approved a strategy for Zimbabwe, which will run until 2023. The country’s brief/strategy is built around two pillars.
First supporting Zimbabwe’s private sector, which has been severely impacted by years of economic distress and this focus, is to strengthen resilience and build competitiveness by improving the private sector’s productive capacity through an improved business climate, ecosystem, infrastructure, and also to leverage the opportunities the AfCFTA
offers.
