NDAMU SANDU
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appointed Italian economist Carlos Caceres as its resident representative designate for Zimbabwe.
Caceres takes over from Patrick Imam, whose three-year tenure ended at the end of August, and is now deputy director of the Joint Vienna Institute, a cooperative venture of six international organisations and the Austrian authorities, the global lender said.
Prior to his new role, Caceres — who commences work after getting accreditation from Harare — worked in the Germany team of the European Department of the IMF, following a three-year stint as the Senior Desk for the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere Department.
Before that, he was one of the lead authors of the Regional Economic Outlook publication for the Western Hemisphere. He previously worked in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, the Middle East and Central Asia Department and the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF.
Caceres has a wide-ranging experience working with countries in Africa, Latin America and North America, Central and South-East Asia, Europe, and the MENA region.
Prior to joining the Fund in 2009, the Italian worked as an economist at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg and also spent two years in the European Economics team at Morgan Stanley in London.
Caceres holds an MEng degree in Engineering with Business & Finance from the University College London and London School of Economics, and an MPhil and PhD degrees in Economics from the University of Oxford.
Meanwhile, a team from the IMF is undertaking a country surveillance on Zimbabwe – assessing economic and financial developments, five months after the global lender said the economy has shown resilience in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Article IV Consultation runs from October 25 to November 16 and will be held virtually.
The mission is led by IMF Mission chief to Zimbabwe Dhaneshwar Ghura. The mission team also comprises senior economists Concha Verdugo-Yepes and Wayne Mitchell, special appointee Samuel Bonzu, Moses Kitonga (Financial Sector Expert), Martina Hengge (economist for Zimbabwe from the Strategy, Policy and Review Department) and Rohan Ahluwalia.
During an Article IV consultation, an IMF team of economists visits a country to assess economic and financial developments and discuss the country’s economic and financial policies with the government and the central bank. IMF staff missions also often meet with parliamentarians and representatives of business, labour unions and civil society.
In its June virtual visit, the IMF said Zimbabwe has shown resilience in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and other exogenous shocks.
It said the pandemic, on top of Cyclone Idai in 2019, a protracted drought, and weak policy buffers, has taken a severe toll on the economic and humanitarian situation
Despite the authorities’ timely actions to support the most vulnerable groups and businesses during the pandemic, real GDP contracted by 4 percent in 2020, after a 6 percent decline in 2019, IMF said.
“However, an economic recovery is underway in 2021, with real GDP expected to grow by about 6 percent, reflecting a bumper agricultural output, increased energy production, and the resumption of greater manufacturing and construction activities. Uncertainty remains high, however, and the outlook will depend on the pandemic’s evolution, the pace of vaccination and implementation of sustainable policies,” the global lender said.
IMF said further efforts are needed to solidify the stabilisation trends and accelerate reforms.
“The near-term macroeconomic imperative is to improve the coordination among fiscal, foreign exchange and monetary policies, while addressing Covid-19 related economic and humanitarian challenges,” IMF said.
