Zimbabwe economic woes set to worsen in 2015

Things are likely to get worse before they get better for Zimbabweans as economic growth projections for 2015 point to a slowdown compared to 2014 which was a very tough year for the battered country.

Although government and the World Bank suggest the Zimbabwean economy will grow by about 3,2% in 2015, local think tank Econometer Global Capital is less optimistic, warning the economy would only grow by a mere 1,2% from about 3,2% in 2014.

The think-tank said political risk, coupled with growing non-performing loans, deflation, poor revenue performances and flat banking deposits will weigh down the economy in the current year.

This flies in the face of the Zanu PF government's daydreaming economic projections, contained in the country latest economic blueprint ZimAsset, that annual GDP growth will average 7,3% over five years starting with the 2013-2014 financial year.

Government is struggling to meet its public service salary obligations and was forced to stagger bonus payments over several months beginning end of 2014 amid threats of a strike by civil servants Official Zimra figures show that net collections for 2014 were US$3,6 billion against a target of US$3,82 billion.

The revenue collector said collections were particularly poor in the fourth quarter of 2014, where they missed the US$1,1 billion target by 10%.