'Zimbabwe has no database on economic enablers'

Zimbabwe lacks a comprehensive database of its stock of infrastructure for comparison of statistics on access, usage, quality and affordability, critical in formulating policies that drive the economy, a research report says.

The report by the Zimbabwe Economic and Policy Analysis Research Unit notes that available indicators on the country's infrastructure were found in and spread over a number of publications including Zimstat and Potraz.

While many countries, including Zimbabwe face large gaps in the stock and quality of infrastructure, the demand for infrastructure investment is rising, at a time infrastructure has become more critical for attracting foreign investment and regional integration.

The research unit said that "just investing is not good enough; there is need for continuous assessment of the condition of existing infrastructure" in a country.

The autonomous think tank said that assessment was critical to operate and maintain infrastructure efficiently in order to reap full benefits from investment.

According to Zeparu, Zimbabwe has been characterised by a continuous deterioration in public infrastructure due to a decade-long economic downturn.