Can Zimbabwe be among the leading economies world wide?

ZIMBABWE is set to become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world within the next decade on the back of the country’s vast mineral resources, a recent study by the Harvard University has revealed.

According to the study, which forecasts the economic growth prospects of 128 countries and is titled the Atlas of Economic Complexity: Mapping Paths to Prosperity, the country’s economy will become the sixth fastest-growing in the world despite the effects of the illegal sanctions imposed on it by the United States of America and its Western allies.
The research’s authors, who are drawn from the university’s Kennedy Centre for International Development, claim that they are 10 times more accurate in predicting economic growth over a decade than the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index.
“China (1), India (2) and Thailand (3) top the rankings for per capita growth potential followed by Belarus (4), Moldova (5), Zimbabwe (6), Ukraine (7), Bosnia and Herzegovina (8), Panama (9), and Mexico (10).
“For these countries, the current level of productive knowledge is unusually high for their level of income which should allow them to catch up faster than other nations.
“Seven Eastern European countries rank in the top 20 in terms of expected growth in income per capita while only two Latin American countries (Panama and Mexico) are in that group,” reads part of the research.
Economic analyst Mr Jonathan Kadzura said there are clear signs that the country is going to be among the fastest-growing economies in the world in the coming years.
“It is an undisputable fact that the country will be a force to reckon with in the next decade,” he said.
Mr Kadzura added that apart from having one of the fastest-growing economies, Zimbabwe is making giant strides towards being economically independent.
“If we have managed to resist the Western embargo for more than a decade, there is no reason to doubt that we are poised for remarkable growth,” he said.
In a recent interview, Comesa’s chief economic advisor Dr Moses Tekere noted that Zimbabwe’s economy will grow as the country boasts of both human and natural resources which are key to industrialisation and economic growth.
“What we need to do is to boost inter-Africa trade and to add value to our products and make them competitive,” he said.
Commenting on the research on the sidelines of a Sapes policy dialogue meeting in Harare last week, Finance Minister Tendai Biti conceded that it was possible for the economy to be rated among the fastest-growing economies in the world in light of its mineral resources.
“Yes, it is possible. There is nothing that can stop us because we have got everything we need as a country. We only need to do the right thing at the right time,” he said