Business / Economy
Zimbabwe economy would expand by 9.3 percent: Biti
05 Mar 2011 at 14:10hrs | Views
Annual inflation will end the year at 4.5 percent, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Friday, reiterating that the economy would grow as much as 9.3 percent.
Inflation quickened to 3.3 percent year-on-year in January.
Biti also told journalists that the economy would expand by 9.3 percent this year, driven by agriculture and mining. He told reporters earlier this year that it would grow about 8 to 15 percent in 2011, a figure analysts say is overly optimistic.
"We have a bumper crop this year and I believe that in terms of maize production we will be second only to South Africa in the region," he said.
After years of decline, Zimbabwe's economy grew in 2009 when President Robert Mugabe and long time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a unity government following disputed elections in 2008.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party says that recovery is under threat from Mugabe's push for elections this year, which the party says could lead to bloodshed.
But a survey released in Johannesburg on Friday said Zimbabweans want new elections this year, despite any violence they could unleash, while support for the MDC has eroded.
Biti said Zimbabwe's external debt of $7.1 billion was a threat to full economic recovery.
Inflation quickened to 3.3 percent year-on-year in January.
Biti also told journalists that the economy would expand by 9.3 percent this year, driven by agriculture and mining. He told reporters earlier this year that it would grow about 8 to 15 percent in 2011, a figure analysts say is overly optimistic.
"We have a bumper crop this year and I believe that in terms of maize production we will be second only to South Africa in the region," he said.
After years of decline, Zimbabwe's economy grew in 2009 when President Robert Mugabe and long time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a unity government following disputed elections in 2008.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party says that recovery is under threat from Mugabe's push for elections this year, which the party says could lead to bloodshed.
But a survey released in Johannesburg on Friday said Zimbabweans want new elections this year, despite any violence they could unleash, while support for the MDC has eroded.
Biti said Zimbabwe's external debt of $7.1 billion was a threat to full economic recovery.
Source - Reuters
