HARARE-(MaraviPost)-The International Monetary Fund is back in Zimbabwe this week for its second assessment of the country’s economic programme, a visit that will test progress on growth, fiscal discipline and reforms.
A 10-day IMF mission led by Mission Chief Wojciech Maliszewski touched down on at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport September 7 and will be in the country until September 16.
The team opened its work with a meeting with Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube.
The review focuses on Zimbabwe’s Staff Monitored Programme, an informal arrangement the IMF uses to track whether a country is sticking to agreed economic policies.
Government officials told the Fund that Zimbabwe is still on course to hit 5% growth this year. They pointed to better-than-expected tax collections and inflation that has remained under control.
According to Treasury, revenue has been coming in above target, giving the state some breathing room against global pressures like high fuel prices.
Spending has also been kept tighter than budgeted, which officials say has helped protect funding for core services.
Social protection came up early in the talks. While the IMF noted that government has prioritized support for vulnerable households, it urged Harare to fix administrative hold-ups.
The Fund said outstanding audits need to be cleared so that money budgeted for social programmes actually reaches the people who need it.
Minister Ncube briefed the mission on debt restructuring talks. He said discussions with both bilateral and multilateral partners are moving forward and have produced positive signals that could ease Zimbabwe’s debt burden.
Over the next week the IMF will dig into several technical areas: plans for a new foreign exchange trading platform being worked on with the World Bank, rollout of a Treasury Single Account, subsidy reforms, monetary policy, and early work on the 2027 budget.
The delegation will also meet business leaders, development partners and civil society groups to get a wider view of how policies are playing out on the ground.
The IMF welcomed progress made so far under the programme and encouraged government to keep up the momentum.
A successful review is seen as important for Zimbabwe’s efforts to restore relations with international lenders and access new financing.
The mission’s findings will be released at the end of its visit on September 16.
Zimbabwe Treasury confirms the development in a statement below:
Zimbabwe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continue to deepen cooperation towards the country’s Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) and today the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Prof. Mthuli Ncube received a courtesy call from the IMF Mission currently in Zimbabwe for the Second Review running from 7–16 September 2026.
The Mission, led by Mr. Wojciech Maliszewski, IMF Mission Chief for Zimbabwe, met with key stakeholders, including Government officials, private sector representatives, development partners and civil society organisations.
Discussions reviewed Zimbabwe’s macroeconomic performance, with Government noting that the economy remains broadly on course towards the projected 5% growth in 2026, supported by strong revenue performance and contained inflation.
The engagement also considered the impact of external shocks, including fuel-price pressures and measures being implemented to cushion the economy.
The Minister highlighted the country’s strong revenue performance, noting that collections have remained above expectations, providing Government with fiscal space to respond to emerging economic pressures.
On expenditure, Government indicated that spending pressures have remained more contained than initially anticipated, with efforts continuing to maintain fiscal discipline while prioritising critical national programmes.
The discussions also focused on the need to accelerate social spending, particularly programmes supporting vulnerable households and communities.
The IMF noted that strengthening social expenditure remains important under the SMP and encouraged Government to address implementation bottlenecks, including outstanding audit requirements, to ensure allocated resources reach intended beneficiaries.
The Minister spoke about progress in debt restructuring and noted that engagements have been made with partners who have agreed to support Zimbabwe which then is expected to ease debt-service pressures and create fiscal space.
The engagement further focused on exchange-rate and FX market reforms, including the new foreign-exchange trading system being developed with technical support from the World Bank.
The discussions also centred on Public Finance Management and Treasury Single Account reforms, subsidy rationalisation, monetary policy, governance reforms and the 2027 National Budget.
The IMF acknowledged ongoing progress and called for continued implementation of reforms under the SMP as Zimbabwe prepares for the next phase of engagement.
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