Zimbabwe Accelerates $21 Billion Debt Resolution Plan with IMF Support

Zimbabwe is set to fast-track its $21 billion public debt and arrears clearance process, with the government signaling readiness to initiate an IMF Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) in January 2025. This announcement came during the 6th High-Level Structured Dialogue on debt resolution held in Harare on November 25, 2024.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, addressing development partners, creditors, and civil society groups, reiterated the government’s commitment to reforms aimed at macroeconomic stability, governance improvements, and protecting vulnerable groups. “The protection of vulnerable groups through effective social protection programmes is of critical importance to my government,” said Mnangagwa. 

The government outlined several key reforms, including:

• Launching a new local currency.
• Introducing a flexible foreign exchange market.
• Strengthening anti-corruption measures with new legislation.
• Implementing land tenure reforms to boost investor confidence, including bankable land tenure documents.
• Allocating $35 million to compensate farmers affected by land redistribution in the 1990s. 

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Champion of the arrears clearance process, called the IMF programme “a significant milestone” in Zimbabwe’s journey toward economic recovery. 

He urged stakeholders to support the SMP, emphasizing its role in creating fiscal space for needed reforms and social protection initiatives.

Adesina underscored Zimbabwe’s strategic importance to Southern Africa and the global energy transition, describing it as “too critical for the world to ignore.” He highlighted AfDB’s pivotal role, including a $4.2 million facilitation grant and plans for further funding in the upcoming African Development Fund cycle. 

Former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, facilitating the dialogue, appealed for international financial and technical support to bolster Zimbabwe’s ongoing reforms. He joined Mnangagwa and Adesina in praising the progress made over two years, describing the structured dialogue as the most effective path forward. 

Adesina urged a collective effort to end Zimbabwe’s decades-long economic struggles. “It is time to close this chapter, end the suffering, and bring shared prosperity to Zimbabwe’s people,” he said, pointing to the transformative potential of infrastructure and energy investments to stimulate regional growth. 

Photo: President of Zimbabwe, Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa and the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in a group photograph at a High-level Structured Dialogue Platform meeting on Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance and debt resolution process, attended by representatives of development partners and creditor countries, in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 25, 2024.