EU grants Zim €75m

CLOUDINE MATOLA

The European Union (EU) yesterday extended €75m or roughly US$81m to Zimbabwe, as part of efforts to help the southern African country  deal with the adverse impacts of climate change and promote socio-economic  development, Business Times can report.

 The deal was signed by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube and  the EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann in the capital Harare.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of the four financing agreements Professor Ncube said the deal will support the agri-value chain development in Zimbabwe with a budget of €26m, biodiversity enhancement for resilience building  (€26m ), transparent and accountable governance (€16m) and gender and women’s economic empowerment (€7m) .

“Zimbabwe remains grateful for the EU support, and today marks another milestone in our cooperation. The four financing agreements will be channelled towards implementation of the Agri-Value Chain Development in Zimbabwe, Biodiversity enhancement for resilience building in Zimbabwe , Transparent & Accountable Governance in Zimbabwe  and Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Zimbabwe ,” Professor Ncube said.

He added:“Support will be channelled towards Zimbabwe’s green economic growth through climate-smart agriculture, agri-food value chain development and renewable energy promotion. The project will be implemented through partnerships with non-governmental organisations, and international organisations.

“The continued support to our agriculture and renewable energy sectors is commendable, as we seek to build and strengthen resilient and climate proof agricultural systems. To this end, Government welcomes the Team Europe Initiative on “Greener and Climate-Smart Agriculture”, which strives to unlock the potential of the agricultural sector through an environmentally conscious productive approach, based on climate-smart, agro-ecological, reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience through adaptation.”

Ambassador of the EU delegation to Zimbabwe , von Kirchmann also said the project on transparency and accountability will empower citizens to hold the government accountable and claim their rights, strengthen service delivery and access to justice at local level.

Also, gender equality and women empowerment will strengthen women socio-economic empowerment.