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Zvamaida Murwira and Wallace Ruzvidzo, Harare Bureau

AFRICAN Development Bank (AfDB) president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has commended Zimbabwe for making huge strides towards clearing its US$21 billion public debt despite challenges related to sanctions and the El Nino-induced drought.

Zimbabwe has an external debt of US$12,3 billion owed to bilateral and multilateral creditors such as the AfDB, World Bank and European Investment Bank, while domestic debt amounts to US$8,7 billion.

In his address to the High-level Structured Dialogue Platform Meeting on Arrears Clearance and Debt Resolution in Harare yesterday, Dr Adesina, who is the champion of Zimbabwe’s debt clearance process, said remarkable progress had been made in the process.

The AfDB president later paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House where they discussed how to further deepen co-operation.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, President Mnangagwa said they discussed several developments that had taken place from the time they last met.

“We spent useful hours with my younger brother, he has been away for a very long time, and there were many things that passed between the period during which he was in hibernation. There is not only light at the end of the tunnel but lightning, which only the privileged can appreciate,” he said.

Earlier, in his address at the High-Level Structured Dialogue, Dr Adesina said remarkable progress had been made since the inception of the process two years ago.

Dialogue, said the AfDB chief, was the only avenue as there was “no other way” to comprehensively address the country’s arrears.

“Significant and impressive progress has been made through the strong commitment of the Government of Zimbabwe, development partners and concerned parties.

“Progress, however, is not perfection. There is always room to improve. We have made more progress in two years than all the prior 21 years since the sanctions were imposed,” he said.

Dr Adesina said because of Zimbabwe’s continued show of commitment, the AfDB was availing additional resources to complement the US$4,2 million it provided towards facilitating the dialogue platform.

“The high-level structured dialogue is the only way, there is no other way. So, we should make it work to deliver the expected end: arrears clearance and debt resolution for Zimbabwe. That is why the African Development Bank provided US$4,2 million towards facilitating the High-level structured dialogue. And we expect to provide additional support because we strongly believe these dialogues are yielding fruits,” he said.

Dr Adesina said it was “time to make Zimbabwe beautiful again” and the swift conclusion to the dialogue would be a step in the right direction.

“It is clearly time to bring this to a close, end the decades of untold damage to the economy of Zimbabwe, and the suffering of its people and have a new beginning with collective hope, aspiration and shared prosperity, for its people, today and well into the future.

“Dialogue is the antidote to the pains of differences and disagreements. In dialogue, we get to listen to and understand each other, respect each other, manage differences and reach common ground for constructive engagement, as we heal old wounds and restore a spirit of reconciliation and national cohesion, seed enduring hope, for lasting peace and economic security,” he said.

Zimbabwe, said the AfDB president, was too critical for the world to ignore.
“With its vast deposits of critical minerals, including lithium and platinum metals group, Zimbabwe is one of the leading countries that holds the future for global energy transitions. In a world of geo-political competition and drive for securing vital strategic minerals and metals, we must look at Zimbabwe with new lenses,” he said.

Dr Adesina expressed his commitment to seeing the process through while reiterating that the clearance of Zimbabwe’s arrears was a win-win proposition.

He said Zimbabwe’s economy continued to register progress despite the El Nino-induced drought last year.

“Zimbabwe is on track to have an International Monetary Fund Staff Monitoring Programme (SMP), which is key for the arrears clearance programme. That is going to happen in January when they will come here,” Dr Adesina said.