Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamasa, IMF mission, Dominic Fanizza and RBZ Governor John Mangudya. Pic by The Source.co.zw
ZIMBABWE will sharply cut its public sector wage bill from 82 percent of government spending currently to 52 percent of expenditure by 2019 and improve fiscal discipline, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said.
Addressing a press conference with the visiting delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Chinamasa said the government would “enter into a process of a staggered progressive reduction” to meet the 2019 target.
The IMF said Zimbabwe had met targets and structural benchmarks under the 15-month staff monitored programme (SMP) — an informal agreement between a government and IMF staff to monitor the implementation of its economic reforms — although economic growth is expected to reach a modest 1,4 percent this year from 1,1 percent in 2015.
“The authorities have met all quantitative targets and structural benchmarks under the third and final review of the SMP. Moreover, they have started to develop a medium term economic transformation programme, in line with the broader reform agenda presented at the Lima meetings on arrears in October 2015,” the IMF said.