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UNLOCKING vibrant investment has always required sound policy backing anchored on realistic reform measures. Zimbabwe is in dire need of increased domestic and foreign direct investment to boost its economy, which has been on a downward spiral since the turn of the millennium. In the context of illegal Western sanctions, lack of access to external lines of credit, particularly from global multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the International monetary Fund (IMF), has not only crippled the country’s domestic production but compromised trade relations and the general international image.

We applaud President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF government for pursuing the on-going re-engagement efforts with the international community with a view to normalising relations for investment purposes. We feel such an approach is critical in enhancing the implementation of the country’s economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, which requires close to $27 billion private sector financing towards achieving set growth targets by 2018.

It is encouraging that the government has made significant inroads in this direction. We are proud that the visiting IMF delegation, which is in the country to carry out a second review of its Staff Monitored Programme (SMP), has expressed satisfaction with economic reform measures adopted by the country to restore investor confidence.

The government embraced the SMP in 2013 as part of measures to assist the country clear close to $10 billion to multilateral institutions. “The policies under the programme have been relatively good. The application of policies has been consistent with what Zimbabwe has promised under the programme,” IMF head of mission Domenico Fanizza said on Monday.

“The Zimbabwe government has made effort to lay down the basis in the growth of the economy and make progress with the re-engagement with creditors.” The IMF has commended reforms made in the financial services sector, labour and streamlining of civil service costs that gobble 80 percent of revenue inflows, among others.

“A number of important reforms in the financial sector have taken place and we welcome that and also reforms in the labour legislation which makes it more flexible,” said Fanizza. Zimbabweans await with anxiety the completion of this noble re-engagement exercise, which is envisaged to create fiscal space for government to redirect resources for capital projects and ailing industries.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa also deserves credit for demonstrating commitment amid adversity. He has continuously reaffirmed the government’s commitment to re-engaging the country’s creditors, both multilateral and bilateral. “We’ve thrown in all our energies in doing so. If we don’t, we are shutting all avenues to development,” said Chinamasa.

“The end game of the re-engagement is for us to reach accommodation with creditors in order to clear our arrears, get new money and to access capital markets. We can’t be isolated for too long, we need to belong to the global economy. The reality of the multi-lateral institutions is that they don’t give you new money if you are in arrears.”

We commend the confidence the country has created with the international institutions so far as it seeks to prove that it can keep fiscal discipline and implement the kind of reforms and capacity to repay its debt. On Thursday, the IMF indicated it could take at least three years before Zimbabwe can start accessing external funding.

We feel this would dampen gains so far achieved. As such we urge the global finance body to come up with quick support measures to incentivise growth given the weakening commodity prices and underperformance of key economic sectors such as mining and agriculture. We suggest the IMF and WB should complement the country’s efforts by way of short term concessionary grants to allow quick economic recovery.

It is everyone’s hope that the upcoming meeting of the IMF, World Bank and the African Development Bank and the government in Lima, Peru, during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, will come up with clear-cut strategies on how Zimbabwe can clear its arrears with multilateral institutions.