AfDB and Zimbabwe to Host Training and Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource Governance
The African Development Bank (AfDB), in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe, will host a three-day training workshop and high-level policy dialogue from 3–5 September 2025 aimed at strengthening governance in the country’s natural resources sector.
The event, organised under the AfDB’s Governing Natural Resource Outflows for Enhanced Economic Resilience in Fragile and Transitional Countries (GONAT) project, will focus on tackling illicit financial flows (IFFs) and improving the management of resource-backed loans (RBLs).
The first two days will deliver technical training for government officials on monitoring illicit activities and negotiating resource-backed loans. The final day will feature a policy dialogue bringing together representatives from government, the private sector, civil society, women entrepreneurs, local communities, and other stakeholders.
Participants will include officials from ministries and agencies responsible for fiscal and debt management, central banking, anti-corruption, natural resource governance and legislative oversight. The initiative is expected to reinforce institutional learning, disseminate policy recommendations, and support the integration of new tools and methodologies into national policies.
“Illicit financial flows remain a major obstacle to sustainable growth in resource-rich African countries,” the AfDB noted, adding that the Zimbabwe programme marks an important step in developing coordinated responses to these challenges.
The Victoria Falls event will be the fifth in a series of regional workshops following earlier sessions in the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Chad, and Mozambique.
