Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to clearing its outstanding debt arrears to multilateral and bilateral creditors.
Speaking at a meeting with representatives of the creditors in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe’s debt overhang continues to weigh down heavily on its development efforts.
“We have no access to new lines of credit, including from the multilateral banks, such as the World Bank Group,” Mnangagwa said.
Zimbabwe, which has suffered from chronic high inflation over the past 15 years, owes international creditors 14.04 billion U.S. dollars.
Debt owed to bilateral creditors is estimated at 5.75 billion dollars, while debt to multilateral creditors is estimated at 2.5 billion dollars.
The country is in arrears for servicing its debt to multilateral development banks, including the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.
“My government continues to demonstrate its commitment through quarterly token payments to various creditors, according to an agreed payment schedule,” he said.
Mnangagwa said the dialogue meeting, the second since December last year, is being held to provide space for constructive and structured dialogue on the country’s arrears clearance and debt resolution.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina and former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano co-chaired the meeting.
Adesina and Chissano were appointed by Mnangagwa last year to act as the country’s champion and high-level facilitator of the arrears clearance and debt resolution process respectively.
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe’s overall aim is to reach a point where the issues underpinning the arrears clearance and debt resolution process are agreed upon through consensus that takes into account Zimbabwe’s unique realities.
The first meeting in December agreed on the economic and governance reforms that Zimbabwe should implement as a pathway to arrears clearance and debt resolution.
The compensation of former commercial farmers for improvements made on farms as well as the resolution of cases of farms affected during the land reform, which were covered by Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements, were also agreed upon during the December meeting.
“With regards to economic reforms, we recognize that exchange rate stability is a key area that requires continued attention. So far, multi-pronged routes are being pursued to ensure greater certainty around this matter,” Mnangagwa said.
He told the meeting that the Zimbabwean government has agreed to a compensation package with former commercial farmers for improvements made on the land, under the Global Compensation Deed.
“We remain committed to the resource mobilization efforts to enable payment of this obligation,” he said, adding that Zimbabwe is keen to see Zimbabwe in good standing with all its creditors.
