Men and women are affected differently by the debt issue. With the nation saddled with a debt of over $18 billion, effectively every man, woman and child in Zimbabwe owes a minimum of $1,285-00 in order to settle this debt. While the debt burden is evenly spread across gender, the income disparities and attendant social and economic responsibilities disproportionately affect men’s and women’s capacities to shoulder the debt burden.

The Progress of Nations Report (2000) published by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) states that the day will come when nations will be judged not by their military or economic strength, nor by the splendour of their capital cities and public buildings, but by the well-being of their peoples, i.e. by their levels of health, nutrition and education; by their opportunities to earn a fair reward for their labours; by their ability to participate in decisions that affect their lives; by the respect that is shown for their civil and political liberties; by the provision that is made for those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged; and by the protection that is afforded to the women and growing minds and bodies of their children.

In the 21^stcentury, it is disheartening that an overwhelming number of people living in poverty across the world are women. In addition to being the most hard hit by poverty, women are also vulnerable to political violence.The debt trap in developing countries, especially in Zimbabwe, is one of the major causes of the suffering for both urban and rural women who constitute the majority of the country’s population. In actual fact, UNICEF reported that as African governments are diverting resources away from health, education and other social services to repay foreign debt created by prior rulers (like the Rhodesian government and the Mugabe regime) the most affected are poor women including their environment.

In Zimbabwe, economic challenges exacerbated by neoliberal economic policies characterised by poor service delivery, unavailability of drugs, and lack of investment in critical sectors of the economy that can be a conduit for sustainable human development, are felt by women the most.

Scholars like Portes (1992) have consistently argued that debt sustainability cannot be captured solely by reference to financial indicators. In Zimbabwe, women’s developmental needs are yet to be met and this calls for an urgent need of increased budget resources towards poverty reduction. Zimbabwe has one of the worst human development levels with unemployment at a staggering 90% with 94% of the population being informally employed and with women constituting the majority of the informal sector.

As the nation commemorates the International Women’s Day, it is prudent to establish the nexus between the struggles of women and the national debt crisis towards solving the two once and for all.

Aluta Continua

This week’s analysis goes beyond the foreign exchange market developments to look into other monetary policy issues in the Zimbabwean economy especially the growing role of Artisanal and Small Scale Miners (ASM) in sustainable development and the call for addressing gross public trust deficit.

Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM) contributes 65.3% of Gold Deliveries in 2018

The government is increasingly becoming more aware of the role of ASM in economic development and poverty alleviation. There are approximately 500 000 Artisanal and Small Scale Miners (ASMs) in Zimbabwe and over 1 million people are dependent on the subsector[1]. In 2018, ASMs contributed 65.5% of gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refineries.  According to the Monetary Policy Statement, the gold deliveries from small scale producers increased by 64.5% from 13.2 tonnes in 2017 to 21.7 tonnes in 2018. This amount is obviously an underestimation of their production levels considering that ASM is criminalised in Zimbabwe. An attempt has been made to increase the foreign currency retention threshold for ASMs to 55% consistent with the bigger mining houses, however, there is no guarantee that the foreign currency will be made available when needed. The proposed 30 day amortization period for redeeming the forex retention may push off the ASMs to smuggling and other alternative markets where they access 100% foreign currency for their proceeds. The ASM may not need the foreign currency for importation but further devaluation of the RTGs dollar, places the USD as a much stable currency. Individuals are already using the USD as a source as a source of investment.

The contribution made by the ASMs under the unfavorable conditions characterized by “hide and seek” operations is therefore a clear testimony that once decriminalized and supported, it can turn around the economy. This should be a quick win for the government in terms of boosting foreign currency and export performance. However, lack of political will to establish a comprehensive framework for legalizing ASM remains a challenge. This could be due to responsible policymakers’ personal interests, corruption and money laundering enabled by the informal status of the ASM sub-sector. The informality of ASM does not only sabotage the potential for turning around the economy but also have negative effects on the country’ s social, environmental and fiscal well-being.

ZIMCODD, therefore, reaffirms its position that the government must promulgate an enabling legislative and regulatory framework that decriminalizes the ASM sector. This should be supported by objective, consistent, transparent and non-discriminatory regulatory mechanisms which offer easy access to mining titles and legal production channels. The expeditious enactment of the long awaited Mines and Minerals bill which captured the decriminalization of the sector remains a priority in mines and mining development.

The government should use statistics highlighted in the monetary policy as a basis for incorporating ASM as a strategic component for rural development which needs both technical and financial support.

In consultation with mining communities and civil society organisations, the government should create frameworks for collaboration between ASM and large mining companies benefiting communities, ASMs, private companies and the government. 

Growing public mistrust hinders future development prospects.

It is extremely difficult for Zimbabwe to navigate the economic terrain in an import dependency economic situation worse still where there is gross public mistrust. It is important to note that any currency is as strong as the level of public trust in that currency. Speculation, arbitrage and hedging thrive in a situation where there is public trust deficit. Going forward, the monetary authority should deliberately invest in active citizen engagement on implications of the proposed monetary policy especially on the following;

1. The foreign currency retention thresholds

Whilst the monetary policy is clear on foreign currency retention allocations by sector, the 30 day foreign currency retention period after which it is liquidated at the going rate is de-incentivizing. On one hand, the government is mistrusting the beneficiaries whilst the beneficiaries remain skeptical of the government’s intention. Farming as a business for instance is seasonal and the one month amortization period is obviously inadequate.  In this case, the bank would clarify and ensure that the policy is implemented on a case by case basis taking into consideration these dynamics. Big companies particularly Multinational Corporations (MNCs) will maneuver this provision considering that most of them have intermediary companies in other countries which would be used to generate the required invoices.

• Restrictions on buying of foreign currency from the interbank market

Informal trading by nature involves buying and selling of commodities, most of which originates from other countries. By setting invoices as a pre condition for purchase of foreign currency discriminates the informal sector players who for instance may not have the bonafide invoices to justify the need for foreign currency but still in need of it. Failure to access foreign currency will force them to source from the “black market.”  Since the policy is hinged upon a willing buyer willing seller basis, most foreign currency will be channeled to the black market.   

As inflation soars, economic crisis deepens

The government, through the Monetary Policy, underestimated the annual inflation rate to the conservative 42.9%. Whatever the case might be, it is a fact that inflation is rising and if not addressed, will take the country to hyperinflation levels. This is undesirable for an underperforming economy especially one that is highly dependent on imports. As inflation soars amid the worsening economic crisis, the majority of people are at the risk of living below the poverty datum line. The unemployed (mainly youth) and low income earners such as pensioners are further impoverished. In broader terms, inflation rate together with the devaluation of the Bond Note by 2.5 further erodes people’s disposable incomes. Previous experiences have conditioned citizens to guard against personal loses associated with policy changes and inconsistencies. Public participation is an important component of good governance and inclusive development. The central bank should therefore engage citizens in the implementation, monitoring and review of the monetary policy. This will go a long way in combating the growing public mistrust in general and inflation rate in particular.

---

[1] Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, 2019 Budget Statement, November 2018

If a tree falls in a forest and no one saw or heard it fall, did the tree fall? What is your response to this teaser? Well it all depends on one’s interpretation. To some the tree fell and to others it didn’t.  Now, to a large extent, this can be used to understand what happens to issues affecting communities in and around the globe. A lot of things happen in different communities but because they are not reported, people think that those things do not happen. Gender, environmental and socioeconomic injustices are the order of the day in different localities. However, these community issues are not captured in mainstream media as they are always trivialised, rendering them inappropriate for occupying any space in mainstream media. This has also been exacerbated by the fact that public media in Southern Africa underwent a shift in their normative role of being a watchdog which should work in the interest of the public by exposing the varied injustices and inequalities bedeviling the different communities.

For so long, communities have been living in silos when it comes to fighting socioeconomic injustices with the issues having been isolated where no-one could make noise about the injustices experienced next door. Even if they could, no one would hear them due to unavailability of well organised platforms to share experiences in first person narrative.

One would ask: Can communities speak about their struggles? Yes it is now very possible for communities to tell stories of issues affecting them. How? That’s where the Ubumbano Community Voice comes into picture and one would wonder what this is all about. Ubumbano Voice is a platform for community activists in Southern Africa to share their struggles and build solidarity. The initiative allows activists to speak directly to the general public, without the need for intermediaries or filters.

In cases where community real life issues are captured in mainstream media, they tend to lose substance due to excessive editing and filtering. Stories of struggle are better told by those affected by the injustices. To have voice is to have power, therefore it is critical to give voice to the victims of injustices. The advent of Ubumbano Community Voice App is a story of people and communities striving to speak out since communities face barriers to expressing their concerns in elitist controlled communication platforms. The project is supported by Act Alliance and other organisations in Southern Africa of which the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) is an active supporting and participating member.

Giving communities voices….this was the gist of the ActUbumbano Community Voice App Training Workshop in Johannesburg from the 26^th to the 28^th of February 2019, where activists from various socioeconomic justice sectors  and organisations from Southern Africa convened to learn more about telling community issues through mobile phone technology.

A national vision is one that is commonly shared and inclusive in its development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. It must therefore take on board the views, inputs and aspirations of individuals and organised stakeholder groups. Towards a national goal, people define what they want and envision not what solution holders think and assume they want. In essence, the people call the shots and service providers simply respond to the people’s needs towards realisation of that vision.

It is against this background that a multi-stakeholder grouping, convened by the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), gathered in Mutare on 14 February 2019 , reflecting, discussing and interrogating the country’s vision  dubbed “Upper Middle Income Economy (UMIE) Agenda  by 2030”. Key considerations were made, gaps were identified and a lot of questions emerged. The multimillion dollar question asked was, whose vision is the UMIE Agenda? It is of no doubt that vision 2030 is a politically driven vision which marginalizes and leaves behind majority of citizens. The undesirable outcome of such a policy intervention creates a situation where national wealth coexists with high levels of human deprivation and poverty. Given that poverty in all its dimensions is a major development challenge bedeviling the economy, the vision should have prioritised such.

The fact that Agenda 2030 was first shared in Washington DC and that citizens were alienated from its development is a clear testimony that it is not people centered.. The exclusion of citizens alone exacerbates public skepticism and mistrust, which if not addressed will make the implementation very difficult. The UMIE agenda thus leaves a lot to be desired.

Implications of the UMIE Agenda.

• The policy further exacerbates inequality as wealth remains concentrated in the hands of the few rich;
• “Middle-income country” status pushes the poor further towards the economic and social periphery as the country lose certain concessions that would have benefitted the poor.

Nothing but a “Game of Figures”

It is ironic that while acknowledging that the last two decades were characterised by massive economic decline, the Finance Minister rebased the economy upwards from an US$18 billion economy to a US$25 billion economy without any justification.  The use of hypothetical figures creates wrong impressions on the state of affairs in the country especially when the government is failing to provide basic necessities like public health care services. The unavailability and inaccessibility of drugs in government and council clinics does not reflect a US$25 billion economy. People dying from curable diseases and exorbitant user fees in public institutions are just but examples which raise a lot of questions on the sincerity of government in coming up with national policies. The government needs a reality check which starts with acknowledging the overlapping acute deprivation in terms of deteriorating health and education standards, pathetic living standards, limited livelihood sources, high unemployment, disempowerment of the informal sector and perpetual violation of economic, social, political, cultural and environmental rights enshrined in the national constitution. The economic figures do not speak to the reality on the ground.  With this in mind, there is consensus that the national vision should have addressed a cross section of sectoral issues and not just economic growth.

Towards a People’s Agenda

• People’s voices are very critical in setting the national agenda and it is not too late for the government to seek input from civil society organisations, women’s organisations, social movements, workers’ unions, rights-based organisations, media and other stakeholders. The government should start by acknowledging people’s rights. This approach safeguard people’s rights as citizens define the national agenda. It also goes a long way in instilling public trust across government departments which is a prerequisite for successful implementation of the reform agenda.
• The government should invest in poverty reduction initiatives through domestic redistribution policies that address the rising inequality in the country. A devolved budget addresses both the temporal and special disparities in the country.
• The government should also make a deliberate effort to protect its citizens, starting with upholding the rule of law and protection against exploitation by monopoly capital.
• A sectoral and intergenerational dialogue is required across the political, cultural, social and economic spheres. 

Background

The much awaited Monetary Policy Statement presented by the Reserve Bank Governor came amid speculations on the fate of the Bond Note and resolve to the foreign currency crisis characterised by acute shortages of fuel, medical drugs and equipment and low industrial capacity utilisation. The policy announced has been received with mixed feelings, with some quarters arguing that it will spell more harm than good to the already bleeding economy.

Currency Question

Much hype was on how the Monetary Policy was going to address the long standing currency question in the country. It is no surprise that the policy addressed the mythical 1:1 exchange rate between the Bond Note and United States Dollar (USD), which has been a major driver of income inequality and social discord in Zimbabwe. It is only worrying that the formal floating exchange rate is being introduced at a time when the country is heavily reliant on imports. With the high demand for foreign currency in securing fuel, electricity, medical necessities, cooking oil and water treatment chemicals, the exchange rate is likely to be inflationary. While the policy statement gives an assurance that mechanisms are in place to safeguard against inflation rate, the actual modalities and tools remain unclear. Worse still, the monetary policy statement is coming way after prices have risen to unprecedented levels. It will be a miracle for the monetary policy to influence the reduction of prices given that prices are sticky downwards.

Whilst the Reserve Bank Governor is guarding against re-dollarisation of the economy, it is no doubt that the USD will remain the base currency for trading purposes in Zimbabwe because businesses are likely to prefer trading in a stable currency.  As the country denominates all Bond Notes and Coins, mobile money and RTGS balances to RTGS dollars, the country’s currency crisis remains unresolved. What this implies is that people and entities will have to return all the different balances they hold back to the bank to be redeemed in RTGS dollars. Since RGTS means Real Time Gross Settlement which is an electronic form of funds transfer where the transmission takes place on a real time basis, it implies that Bond Notes and Coins and mobile money payments will be suspended paving way for a new currency. Without safeguarding measures in place, people’s RTGS balances, Bond Notes and Coins and mobile money will be eroded just like in the case of 2008.

The monetary policy further marginalises farmers by prescribing a lower foreign currency retention threshold of 30% for cotton and tobacco farmers, compared to 80% entitled to middle-men. This perpetuates economic inequality and undermines farmers’ social and economic rights. ZIMCODD strongly believes that farmers should benefit most along the value chain.

ZIMCODD is concerned that arbitrage tendencies and practices will persist as basic commodities continue to receive foreign currency at the rate of 1:1 via the opaque Reserve Bank foreign currency allocation system.

ZIMCODD notes with regret that the central bank has secured lines of credit to underpin the new monetary policy position, without disclosing the terms and conditions of the loans.

Against this background, citizens’ social and economic rights are under threat. The free market approach to the currency crisis will further expose and impoverish vulnerable citizens already wallowing in poverty from wage erosion caused by exchange rate fluctuations.

Recommendations

• The monetary authorities should address the root cause of the economic imbalances bedeviling the country and not the symptoms. This requires a holistic approach that addresses deficiencies in both the fiscal and monetary spectrums.
• There is need for a simultaneous adjustment of the fiscal policy framework towards strengthening manufacturing sector capacity utilization.
• The monetary policy will perpetuate and widen the trust deficit already existing between citizens and the monetary authorities, that has led to the current poor banking culture. Therefore there is need for monetary policy consistency to restore confidence in the country’s financial system.
• It would have been prudent for the monetary authorities to introduce a standalone and credible Zimbabwean currency which will address the liquidity challenges once and for all.

The Zimbabwean government developed a macro-economic policy framework dubbed Vision 2030 as the government envisages an Upper Middle Income Economy (U-MIE) by 2030. The government thus embarked on a radical economic transformation stance, introducing neoliberal economic policies at the detriment of the ordinary citizens.  It is against this backdrop that civic groups, faith based organisations, students, youths, People With Disabilities (PWDs) and labour movement representatives met in Harare under the auspices of the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) on Tuesday 12 February 2019 to discuss and scrutinise vision 2030. The forum which ran under the theme “Promoting Active Citizen Participation in the U-MIE Agenda” provided participants with an opportunity to register their concerns in relation to U-MIE agenda.

Citizens registered their dissatisfaction on theirexclusion in the whole process of modeling Vision 2030, an agenda which has proved to be elitist and World Bank Economic Classification driven. All the sectors represented at the forum concurred that the U-MIE agenda is not a home grown policy framework that was initiated, debated upon and adopted by the people of Zimbabwe through multi-stake/stockholder conferences. This is an outright betrayal to the masses of Zimbabwe since development by its very nature must be indigenously developed.

Highlights of key demands by various sectors

The neo-liberal thrust of Vision 2030 is not pro-poor rather it is pro-global capital. Labour movements raised a red flag on the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP)’s (the initial framework that seeks to operationalise Vision 2030) special emphasis on the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which are a threat to labour rights as they provide fertile ground for labour market flexibility to flourish at the expense of the poor working people. This compromises the adherence to International Labour Organisation (ILO) decent work conventions that Zimbabwe is a party to. In addition, SEZs promote tax holidays for multinational companies at the expense of the general public who are burdened by various tax heads. The labour movements also demanded legislation of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNP) so that commitments made during negotiations are legally bound. They also called for the demilitarisation of industrial relations

Representatives from the media fraternity demanded safety and security of journalists and media policy reforms as the country rally towards vision 2030.

Environment agencies demanded review of the environmental policy to ensure the preservation of wetlands,increment of budget allocation towards water management and adaptability strategies in the face of climate change.

Students demanded that they be considered as a critical stakeholder in decision making processes especially on decisions that affect them. Elderly people demanded investment in social safety nets to support the elderly people.

Women demanded alternative sources of livelihoods for informal traders following the demolition on venting sites to cater for women who constitute 67% of vendors.Furthermore, they called upon the government toguarantee safety, security and justice for women and ensure that justice prevails for victims of gender based violence. In addition to justice, women demandeddisaggregated data according to gender to allow for further analysis of issues affecting women in Zimbabwe.

People living with HIV/AIDS demanded guaranteed availability of drugs in public hospitals, sufficient and up to date viral count machines,sustainable and domestic health financing for all and a quarter system for representation in parliament.

Harare residents demanded review of local government policy to ensure clear designated roles and mandates for Provincial Administrators, Resident Ministers and the Minister of Local Government. Furthermore, residents called upon the government to create space and platforms for citizens to participate in budget processes both at national and local level. They also demanded reduction of military budget and reallocation of resources towards social services such as health and education.

PWDs called upon the government to ratify the United Nations Convention on rights of persons with disabilities to ensure full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.They also demandeddecent houses for people with disabilities and called upon the return of social welfare fund earmarked for PWDs to cater for their social and economic needs including wheel chairs.

Participants were also sceptical of the U-MIE agenda arguing that what the TSP has proved so far are symptoms of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) of the late 1990s which spelt untold suffering on the masses. The argument is based on the fact that the U-MIE agenda is founded upon liberalisation and privatisation of the economy placing emphasis on attracting foreign direct investment at any cost and is silent on domestic resource mobilisation and the democratisation of natural resource governance. In short, by adopting neoliberal economic policies towards achieving Vision 2030, the government is bringing back the infamous ESAP through the backdoor.

From the contributions made during the forum, it is quite evident that the masses who were not consulted on crafting the U-MIE agenda feel sidelined as it was just imposed on them, hence cannot situate their aspirations within this vision. What is imperative is for the government of Zimbabwe to review the vision 2030 and ensure that they incorporate citizens’ views and voices in order for U-MIE agenda to qualify as a nationally shared vision.

Viva the Struggle for Social and Economic Justice!

About 500 community members representing over 26 countries gathered in Cape Town at the Double Tree hotel for the 10th Annual Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI). The event marked the commemoration of AMI’s 10 years of work and successes since the year 2010. AMI milestones include the expansion of the forum from 40 to 500 participants, offering communities a space to discuss challenges they face in the mining and corporate sector.

Major setbacks raised in the mining sector include:

• Lack of respect of locals’ rights when big corporates come for investment in Africa. Mining investors come, destroy communities’ livelihoods and displace them without compensation.
• Corporates loot resources and in return offer tokenism development and avoid taxation.

It is a fact that mining communities constitute 1% of the total world population but they are the poorest communities all over, characterized by high unemployment and poor service delivery. Inga is one example of the communities affected by corporate impunity. Inga is a community located in Western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hosting 2 hydroelectric dams but is one of poorest communities. The Inga Hydroelectric Project damaged the community social fabric, displaced communities with no compensation and further took away their livelihoods as they survived through farming and fishing from the dam. Housing, sanitation and infrastructure development promises became a vision for the future as communities are still leaving in squatter settlements, with no access to electricity and water generated and pumped in their community.

Politicians and corporates have gone ahead and disregarded community needs and initiated plans to expand the two dams to create Inga 3 dam which will produce 11 000 MW increasing the total production of electricity to above 40000MW making it the biggest in Africa. It is further envisaged that the dam will create an electrical connection from Democratic Republic of Congo to Namibia, Angola, Botswana, and South Africa. This additional project, Inga 3, will further displace an estimate of 33 000 Congolese communities who were again not involved in tender processes. What is disheartening is the fact that the communities had regrouped and devised alternative livelihoods after the first displacements and are now going to be effected again. This plunges them to increased impoverishment through violence and loss of property if they invoke their Right To Say No principle. Communities will be left at the mercy of the leadership and corporates who are displacing them from their ancestral lands. It is also evident from the previous projects that the new project will again disturb the aquatic life and the environment which had improved over the years. Congolese organisations and AMI movements are campaigning against this project as it benefits a few and impoverishes the community. In Zimbabwe and the rest of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), many communities have experienced similar development challenges due to unsustainable extractivism and energy projects. It is high time that the people protect their rights to free prior informed consent.

Proposals from the AMI concerning the Inga 3^rd hydroelectric project:

• Stop Inga 3 and adopt renewable energy alternatives.
• Demand for the respect of the Right to Say No Principle by corporate and government institutions.
• Demand for community involvement in tender and development processes.
• Call for prioritization of social service delivery and corporate responsibility.
• Taxation of corporates.
• Demand for respect of workers’ safety and rights by corporates.
• Demand for electricity and low electricity tariffs for the Inga community.

By Florence Ndhlovu

Development Worker and Human Rights Activist

It is indisputable that the national debt audit is long overdue. However, the nature and process of conducting a national debt audit matters the most, especially when the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development itself issue conflicting figures in relation to the amount owed to the creditors and debt repayments. Findings in the 2018 Auditor General’s statement are revealing. The principal and interest payments on the Treasury Payment Schedule, Statement of Public Debt and Public Finance Management System reports were different. The Treasury Payment Schedule has $1 002,218,524, the Statement of Public Debt had $919,115, 459 whilst the Public Finance Management System report had $899,848,828. Furthermore, a failure to calculate the compounded penalty interest charges on loans has a risk of understating the penalty interests considering that the figures presented by the Ministry shows negative penalty interest charges for some foreign loans including those from the European Investment Bank amounting to $488, 000. In this case a debt audit is necessary for determining the correct debt figures and the overall debt stock. Moreover, the national debt audit is important for determining the legitimacy of certain debt which is a precondition for a comprehensive debt management strategy. As it stands the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has put the cart before the horse by publishing the debt management strategy before the national debt audit. More so, the debt audit should not be about the figures only.

What then should the national debt audit address?

Considering that the national debt is being shouldered by citizens and already undermining social service delivery and human rights, the national debt audit should address the following;

1. Understanding historical, economic, legal and political context of the Zimbabwean debt
2. The quantum and repayment schedules;
3. Legitimacy as a precondition for formulation of a debt strategy going forward;
4. Performance of these loans;
5. Its impact on the economy and people’s lives.
6. Analysis of the terms and conditions of the loans

With this in mind, a collective decision should be made on the nature of the debt audit. Mindful of the fact that debt management in Zimbabwe is shrouded in secrecy leaving the national debt audit in the hands of government puts the whole process in jeopardy. The fear stems from the inherent nature of the government to subvert people’s constitutional right to information and the deliberate publication of different debt figures dependent on audience notwithstanding the fact that Section 300 (3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe obliges the Minister responsible for Finance to publish the terms of the loan agreement within 60 days after its conclusion. 

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has not been reporting on the performance of both loans raised by the state and those guaranteed by the state in violation of section 300 (4) of the Constitution. Worse still, under the same circumstances, the Ministry of Finance is already undertaking a national debt audit without involvement of the National Assembly as revealed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development on the 4^th of February 2018 when he appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

ZIMCODD calls upon the government to establish a National Debt Audit Commission comprising of technical experts on debt and public finance management with representation from government, civil society, multilateral, bilateral and private creditors, and the private sector. The Public Accounts Committee retains its oversight role in the work of the Commission in ensuring the audit is being carried out transparently and in the best interest of Zimbabweans as espoused by section 298 (1f) of the constitution of Zimbabwe.

NB: Please note that ZIMCODD will soon be sharing a comprehensive framework for the national debt audit.