Zimbabwe’s debt management performance assessed

At the request of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED) in Zimbabwe, a joint World Bank/MEFMI Mission conducted a debt management performance assessment from 16 to 24 May 2019 in Harare. The Mission was conducted against a background of the significant challenges facing Zimbabwe, including a high debt burden arising from accumulating external arrears since 2000. As at end December 2018, the public and publicly guaranteed debt was estimated at USD16.6 billion, equivalent to 67.7 percent of GDP. External public debt totalled USD8.163 billion, nearly two thirds of which were arrears.

A Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) approach was to assess Zimbabwe’s debt management performance. In this methodology, debt management performance is assessed through a comprehensive set of indicators that span the full range of government debt management functions, focusing on strengths and weaknesses. The Mission compared the debt management operations in Zimbabwe against the benchmarks set in the DeMPA methodology under various dimensions of public debt.

The Mission comprised Andre Proite (World Bank Team Leader), Phillip Anderson (World Bank consultant), Tomas Magnusson (World Bank consultant), Josephine Tito (MEFMI Programme Manager) and Roula Katergi (UNCTAD).

The Mission is currently finalising a report on the findings of the assessment, which will be peer reviewed by a panel of external experts before submission to MOFED for approval. The report will provide the basis for further engagement between the Government of Zimbabwe, World Bank, MEFMI, UNCTAD and other partners on strengthening debt management capacity in Zimbabwe.