RBZ and IAPAZ collaborate to tackle Zimbabwe’s economic challenges

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and Indigenous Advisory Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe (IAPAZ) have teamed up to tackle the country’s economic challenges.

In a high-level meeting, IAPAZ President Mr Nyasha Gonese and his team joined the RBZ Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu and staff to discuss joint solutions for pressing issues like skills gaps, rising import costs, and professional development.

“IAPAZ is committed to partnering with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to address our nation’s economic challenges. By leveraging our collective expertise and resources and through our ongoing initiatives, we believe we can make significant strides in reducing import dependency, enhancing professional services sector development, and fostering a more sustainable and inclusive economy,” said Mr Gonese.

He said IAPAZ is a membership-driven association established to address the fragmentation and siloism among Zimbabwean professionals.

Mr Gonese said traditional professional bodies, constrained by colonial legacies, have often focused on policing ethics rather than orientation towards development as Zimbabwe marches towards an upper middle income status by 2030.

“Our approach is to promote the development of entrepreneurial skills and the broader contribution of professionals to Zimbabwe’s economic progress,” he said.

Mr Gonese said financial resources without adequate, relevant, skilled and motivated human resources will not deliver the desired outcomes of National Development Strategy One (NDS1).

He said the 2018 national skills audit revealed critical shortages in various sectors like engineering and technology 93.6 percent, natural and applied sciences 97 percent, agriculture 88 percent, medical and health sciences 95 percent and applied arts and humanities at 18 percent

“These skill shortages contribute to a high import bill and exacerbate the significant decline in current account balance. Zimbabwe’s import bill increased from $8.62 billion in 2022 to $9.22 billion. Concurrently, the current account balance deteriorated from $133 million in 2023 to $44.5 million in 2024. Addressing these skill shortages is crucial to reducing import dependency and improving our economic balance,” he said.

Mr Gonese said diaspora remittances rose to US$1.6 billion from US$1.4 billion in 2023.

“This increase reflects the fact that Zimbabwe is exporting skills inform of employment labor. While remittances are vital, they do not directly contribute to the national fiscus for public infrastructure development and service provision,” he said.

Mr Gonese said the global economic outlook suggests that global inflation is projected to decline from 8.7 percent in 2023 to 5.8 percent this year due to tighter monetary policies and lower international commodity prices.

This reduction, he said, highlights the importance of diversifying the economy through giving equal regard to services sector.

” Zimbabwe’s reliance on commodities amidst a declining global inflation rate underscores the urgent need to expand our services sector to build a more resilient and balanced economy,” said Mr Gonese.

To address these challenges, he said, IAPAZ has implemented several strategic initiatives such as the retired corps without borders.

“This programme aims to bridge the skills gap by leveraging the expertise of retired professionals and entrepreneurs both within Zimbabwe and in the diaspora. By harnessing this knowledge, we can address critical shortages in key sectors and support economic development. We are also narrowing the theory and practice gap by blending the agility and intelligence of the youth and wisdom of the retirees,” he said.

Mr Gonese said in partnership with the Zimbabwe Chamber of SMEs an umbrella association with almost 5 million micro to small medium enterprises businesses, they have launched an ongoing programme to transform the mindset of the high-potential SMEs.

” Formalisation of business operations is one of the key strategic objectives of this programme. The idea is to enhance their growth and competitiveness in both domestic and export markets. In collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, we are advancing the commercialization of schools business units. This programme aims to cultivate entrepreneurial skills from a young age, focusing on commercializing schools’ horticulture and aquaculture units for domestic and export markets. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the agricultural value chain which will close the 88 percent skills shortage in agriculture in the medium to long term,” he said.

Mr Gonese said they are committed to empowering professionals with the entrepreneurial skills needed to drive economic growth and reduce the reliance on imports, promoting a shift from an employee mindset to viewing professions as serious business ventures that have a serious export potential.

“We support policies that promote professional development, entrepreneurship, and economic diversification. We propose the inclusion of IAPAZ in the RBZ’s periodic thematic committees to contribute to policy discussions and developments,” he said.-chroncile