Carte Blanche with Perry

The economic headwinds being carried over from last year are likely to persist in 2020, curtailing overall economic growth. The economic challenges prevailing in the country will likely be worsened climatic shocks chief among them, the droughts that have been experienced in the country which have affected power generation, and food security. Given the foregoing, major downside risks in the economy remain, and 2020 will likely be a very challenging year. GDP Trends In official government forecasts, the Ministry of Finance projected GDP growth of 3% for 2019, which was above the 3.5% growth rate originally estimated by the World Bank. However, the World Bank now forecasts that Zimbabwe`s economy shrunk by as much as 7.5% in 2019, and the Bank is forecasting GDP growth of 2.7% in 2020. Zimbabwe's projected growth for this year lags behind the sub-Saharan Africa growth forecast of 2.9%, which is based on the assumption that investor confidence improves in some large...

Robert Mugabe International Airport - Image Credit (CAAZ) Air Zimbabwe recently took delivery of a pre-owned Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, and as the goings on at Air Zimbabwe so often do, this event sparked mixed reactions, especially considering the manner in which the flights were acquired. At the heart of such polarising debates inevitably, is the ‘small’ matter of the profitability of Air Zimbabwe, and its cost to public taxpayers. The ferocious debate raging in South Africa, with regard to continual government bailouts to the perennially loss making South African Airways, which is threatening both South Africa`s fiscal health and its international credit ratings, will obviously not have been lost on Zimbabweans, in this context. For years now, the unbridled descent of Air Zimbabwe has shown no immediate signs of abating. Strikes, allegations and counter allegations of mismanagement have hemmed-in the airline, choking the very life of Zimbabwe`s flag carrier in the s...