EU impressed by Zim reforms

18 Oct, 2018 - 14:10 0 Views
EU impressed by Zim reforms

eBusiness Weekly

 HARARE – The European Union (EU) is in  support of Zimbabwe’s Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and  will avail necessary support to help its successful implementation, a  top EU diplomat said on Thursday.

Early this month, government launched a two-year economic stabilisation  programme aimed at addressing the ills that have ravaged the economy for  close to two decades.

The TSP is premised on five main pillars that will pave the way for the  government to attain its vision of a middle income country by the year  2030.

The five pillars include governance, macro-economic stability and  financial re-engagement, inclusive growth, infrastructure and utilities,  and social development. Other key targets of the TSP include cutting  government expenditure through civil service reform, fighting corruption  as well as boosting competitiveness of the economy through ease of doing  business reforms and addressing constraints impacting on industrial  productivity.

New EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen said the EU was keenly  following the economic and political reform process being undertaken by  the Zimbabwe government.

He said the reforms undertaken so far were encouraging and that it was  important to advance both political and economic reforms simultaneously.

“We are quite willing to see how our cooperation that we are engaged  with the government could support those reform ambitions that the  government has,” he told the media after presenting his credentials to  President Mnangagwa at State House.

“There have been positive indications particularly on the economic  reform agenda. What is important is to see concrete action being taken  and for example the issue about macro-economic stability is a very  important one and we are looking at how government will start to tackle  it.

“The TSP contains a lot of issues that we agree upon and that we would  like to see movement upon. The question is now to see those concrete  steps.”

Meanwhile, Olkkonen said the EU would also continue offering support to  Zimbabwe through development co-operation and other means.

“Currently the EU is working in the sectors of health, governance and  agriculture and now we have a multi-annual framework for financing that  co-operation,” he said.

“But obviously that is not the full extent of EU cooperation, there is  natural resources management, there is humanitarian aid so the EU is  engaged with Zimbabwe in several sectors.” – New Ziana

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