Business Editor
A NEW micro-economic framework is being crafted to guide annual plans and budgetary allocations to ministries to ensure prioritisation and attainment of targets set in the Zim-Asset blue-print, a Cabinet minister has said.

Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Minister, Simon Khaya Moyo said the proposed economic framework would guide the budgetary process for the coming year.

“My Ministry is responsible for crafting annual plans and the macro-economic framework which guides the budget. As I’m here my staff have started the process of coming up with the macro-economic framework, which will be presented to the government to guide the budgetary process for the coming year,” he said.

The move, he said, would ensure robust pursuit of rallying points for national development as espoused in the Zim-Asset blue-print.

Khaya Moyo acknowledged the country faces a huge task of growing the economy and improving standards of living for a majority of people.

Under Zim-Asset, the economy is projected to grow by an average of 7.3 percent during the plan period (October 2013-December 2018).

The blue-print prioritises development in four strategic clusters — food security and nutrition, social services and poverty eradication, infrastructure and utilities and value addition and beneficiation.

“It’s important that all sectors of the economy work together to reduce poverty and make Zimbabwe one of the fast growing economies of Africa,” said the minister.

“Our concern at the moment is that the aforementioned growth targets haven’t been met with the country registering a growth rate of 3.4 percent in 2013 and 3.1 percent in 2014 which is well below the Zim-Asset targets and Africa’s average of about five percent per annum.”

Lack of access to credit lines, high interest rates, low business and investor confidence and subdued international pricing for major exports and declining industrial capacity utilisation are major stumbling blocks for Zimbabwe’s economic progress.

Khaya Moyo said unlocking the desired foreign direct investment was possible within a short space of time as the government was already working on a number of reforms aimed at incentivising investment.

“Given Zimbabwe’s human capital and natural resources and the new economic thrust we can still achieve the growth rate targets envisaged in the economic blueprint Zim-Asset. What we need is to work hard to grow the economy,” he said.

Opportunities abound in major economic sectors such as agriculture, mining, tourism, information communication technology and infrastructure development.

The government has come up with several turn around strategies anchored on joint venture partnership, harnessing Diaspora funding, incentives to attract increased foreign direct investment, setting up a One Stop Investment Centre at the Zimbabwe Investment Authority and establishing a Presidential Investor’s Roundtable, which will facilitate interface with prominent investors to appreciate their views and concerns on the investment climate prevailing in the economy and also to obtain recommendations on improving the same so as to make Zimbabwe an investment destination of choice.

Others measures include addressing the cost of production and enhancing competitiveness, labour reforms, special economic zones, liquidity debt management, developing a robust informal sector, good governance, curbing illicit financial inflows and push for value addition and beneficiation of mineral resources.

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