STAKEHOLDERS in Matabeleland region are ready to engage Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, who will headline the 2026 Post-Budget Breakfast Meeting in Bulawayo on Monday.
Hosted by Zimpapers, the country’s largest integrated media group in collaboration with the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the platform is expected to draw leading business and financial sector voices to unpack the implications of the 2026 National Budget.
The high-level engagement comes a few weeks after Prof Ncube presented the 2026 National Budget, themed: “Enhancing Drivers of Economic Growth and Transformation Towards Vision 2030”.
The meeting is expected to further provide businesses, investors, and analysts with deeper insights into the policy measures proposed in the budget, amid expectations of accelerated growth, increased private-sector participation, and stronger macroeconomic stability.
Commenting on the upcoming event, Bulawayo-based economist and academic, Mr Stevenson Dlamini said: “We must view this post-budget meeting through the lens of strategic signalling and economic necessity, not as a genuine policy consultation.
“The budget is a finalised fiscal instrument. Therefore, the Honourable Minister’s primary objective is to credibly convey fiscal orthodoxy to his most critical audience — international creditors like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — which is vital for long-term debt restructuring and finance.”
Domestically, Mr Dlamini said the event serves to manage Bulawayo’s regional business sentiment.
“For the pragmatic business stakeholder, the real economic value is not the speech itself, but the opportunity for high-level networking and sentiment analysis in the corridors, securing the access and information required to navigate the current constrained economic environment,” he said.
The Special Post-Budget Breakfast Meeting is expected to draw business leaders, economists, policymakers, and investors seeking clarity on the 2026 economic outlook.
The dialogue will be crucial in gauging the feasibility of proposed measures and in identifying areas where public-private collaboration can strengthen the implementation of fiscal reforms.
The 2026 budget was presented at a time when there are ongoing efforts to stabilise inflation, sustain industrial recovery, and accelerate progress towards Vision 2030.
Monday’s meeting will provide a major platform for stakeholders to interrogate the budget’s assumptions and map out strategic responses for the year ahead.-herald
