Zimbabwe and the European Union on Monday penned a $270 million deal to resume direct funding after a 13-year hiatus.
The financing deal is under the National Indicative Programme (NIP), targeted at socioeconomic projects for the next six years. The resumption of ties with the West has also seen some potential investors coming to Zimbabwe from Britain, France, Russia, Belgium and China.
The developments also come in the wake of a report from the Zimbabwe National Statistics agency that the Zimbabwe inflation slid to -1.28 percent in January from December’s rate of -0.80 percent.
Central bank chief, John Mangudya says the decline in inflation rate is a necessary step towards price correction. Mangudya says it increases the consumer purchasing power and is good for business.
To discuss the state of the economy, Studio 7’s Blessing Zulu reached vice president of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Davison Norupiri, who says the EU-Zimbabwe deal is significant.
Meanwhile, workers and employers are still reeling over proposals by central bank governor John Mangudya to freeze wages.