Story by Stanley James, Business Editor
THE business community is confident of the country’s economic growth prospects despite local and global shocks.
This comes after monetary authorities pledged policy consistency and continuous engagements with relevant stakeholders.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries’ (CZI)’s 2023 annual economic and business outlook symposium held in Harare this Wednesday created a platform for the business community to exchange notes with the government on the country’s growth prospects for the year.
Imara Capital chief executive officer Mr Sean Gammon said, ‘‘The targets set by the government seem to be realistic, that is if they walk the talk. Otherwise, there are great opportunities for the economy to be in a greater shape than last year.’’
Old Mutual Managing Director Mrs Gloria Zvaravanhu noted, ‘‘Zimbabwe needs to guard against the effects of the climate change and the energy supply constraints in order to sustain the overall economic growth trajectory.’’
CZI International Trade committee member, Mr Welllington Dangarembizi also noted, ‘‘Basically, I am upbeat about the growth prospects which will cascade into the overall 3.8% growth target by year end given high probabilities for a growth in agriculture, mining and construction.’’
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya assured captains of industry and commerce of Zimbabwe’s commitment towards consistent macro-economic policies towards stability.
‘‘The growth trajectory needs to be sustained by effective policies therefore fiscal and monetary policies will continue to complement each other.’’
Findings of capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector during the just ended year set for release in the next few weeks are also expected to help authorities come up with measures to consolidate industrial growth.
