Zimbabwe's Economic reform programme under threat

Global commodity price shocks and domestic policy slippages threaten Zimbabwe's ability to undertake reforms under a successor International Monetary Fund supervised economic reform programme, the global lender has said.

Last week, IMF approved a successor plan to the Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) - an informal agreement between the country authorities and Fund staff to monitor the implementation of the authorities' economic programme - to replace the one which ended in June.

Under the successor SMP, Zimbabwe has promised to maintain a fiscal balance with more resources being channelled to capital and social projects instead of salaries.

This would also culminate in the slashing of the wage bill. Zimbabwe also promised IMF to ensure clarity on the indigenisation law to allay the fears of investors in the wake of conflicting interpretations by government ministers. Zimbabwe has also promised to move steps towards resolving the country's $10 billion external debt.