Story by Oleen Ndori
TREASURY says sustained economic growth across key sectors continues to position Zimbabwe on course to attain an upper middle-income society by 2030, in line with the Second Republic’s inclusive development agenda.
The country’s transition from recovery to sustainable growth has been supported by progress in macro-economic stability, price stability, the successful introduction of the local currency in 2024 and significant retooling within the industrial sector.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Mr George Guvamatanga, said the government is targeting single-digit inflation by 2026 and economic growth of around 6.6 percent.
“Macroeconomic stability has always been the basis for economic growth, not just stability, but sustainable stability. Through the fiscal measures we have implemented, together with the monetary measures put in place with the central bank, that foundation is now firmly established for industry and the wider economy to grow,” he said.
“That is why we are now talking about single-digit inflation in the first quarter of 2026, already within SADC benchmarks. This anchors the growth we expect to see. The Minister is confident that we will become a middle-income economy by 2030. Our first and second-quarter growth averaged 8.4 percent. So while we project 6.6 percent for the year, both the Minister and I strongly believe growth will exceed 7 percent,” he added.
Value addition and beneficiation remain key pillars under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
Treasury says noticeable progress has been made in turning local produce into finished goods now found on supermarket shelves, with companies such as National Foods, Champion Foods, Varun Beverages and CFI Holdings driving this transformation.
“Three or four years ago, the ratio of locally manufactured goods to imported goods stood at around 80-20 or 70-30. We have seen a rapid turnaround. This is reflected in manufacturing now being the biggest sector in our economy. It shows the ability of the economy to convert primary agricultural outputs into consumer goods,” Mr Guvamatanga explained.
He highlighted the emergence of new production lines, including pasta and biscuit plants, as evidence of the country’s progress in value addition.
Over the next five years, the government aims to develop a strong, modern and resilient infrastructure network that supports productivity and sustainable socio-economic growth. This will be complemented by efforts to increase agricultural productivity to ensure food and nutritional security while strengthening agro-processing value chains.
