Article by Davison Vandira
Government and the business sector met for a special engagement in Harare this Monday which saw the two partners reviewing areas that need streamlining in the 2023 national budget presented two weeks ago.
The general macroeconomic stability in the economy has charmed the business community which is convinced that the status quo should be maintained to guarantee economic growth.
President Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers Association, Mr Denford Mutashu said, “As retailers, we have organised this interactive meeting so that we engage with authorities as we are at the tail end of the production process and often we shoulder the blame for things that we do not generate. As such, we are grateful that all the stakeholders are here to review the budget and come up with a social contract that moves our country forward.”
Mr Tafadzwa Musarara, chairperson of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe noted, “Any country’s economic development journey is coined around food security and nutrition and therefore it is encouraging to note the allocation that has been given to the agriculture sector and all its value chains and we will also give the necessary support as a sector to provide food to the nation.”
“The construction industry across the board is the one that has been benefiting from the budget and we are going to safeguard these resources so that they do not cause unnecessary inflationary pressures as was the case previously the case,” said Mr Emmanuel Chimedza, President of the Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which was part of the proceedings, reassured the nation that the tight monetary policy stance will continue unabated.
RBZ Deputy Governor, Dr Innocent Matshe noted, “As the central bank, we will continue with our complimentary role of providing the fiscal leg with the necessary support such that the macroeconomic environment is conducive to conducting economic activities.”
Treasury welcomed all the views and highlighted the need for continuous engagements as government and business are partners in Zimbabwe’s quest to become an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
“Our budgets for the past three years have been underpinned on fiscal consolidation, whereby resources have been channelled to social protection and capital expenditures and this is the consistency that will be there to support our economic blueprint in National Development Strategy One,” noted the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
Post-budget processes are a critical phase in determining the execution and acceptability of the fiscal policy.
