<\/p>\n
The funding will support the Zimbabwe Arrears Clearance Dialogue Enhancement Project, which focuses on advancing dialogue and reforms needed to move the arrears clearance process forward.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe\u2019s public debt stood at about $21.5 billion by the end of 2025, including $11.7 billion in external debt. Of this amount, about $7.7 billion is owed to multilateral and bilateral creditors. The arrears have constrained access to external financing and limited the country\u2019s ability to increase public investment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The project will run for 36 months from June 2026 to May 2029 and will be implemented by the government. The main objective is to build consensus among key stakeholders on the steps required to clear arrears and restore financial cooperation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The initiative builds on earlier work under the Support for Arrears Clearance and Governance Enhancement programme approved in 2022. That programme established platforms bringing together government, creditors, development partners, civil society organisations and the private sector to sustain engagement on debt resolution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The new project will include three areas of focus. The first is strengthening dialogue through structured engagement on economic growth, governance and land tenure reforms. The second focuses on improving capacity through upgrades to debt management systems, stronger parliamentary oversight and enhanced anti-corruption measures. The third will cover project coordination, financial management and monitoring.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The programme also incorporates a gender responsive approach, recognising the impact of debt challenges on women and young people. The approval follows the International Monetary Fund Staff Monitored Programme agreed in April 2026, which is seen as an important step in the broader process of debt resolution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Eyerusalem Fasika, AfDB Country Manager for Zimbabwe, said the approval reflects continued support for Zimbabwe\u2019s economic recovery. Fasika said clearing arrears remains key to unlocking access to development financing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34775,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-34774","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Zimbabwe\u2019s efforts to resolve its longstanding debt arrears have received support after the African Development Bank Group approved a $4 million grant aimed at strengthening the country\u2019s re-engagement with international creditors.","published_date":"","news_description":"Zimbabwe\u2019s efforts to resolve its longstanding debt arrears have received support after the African Development Bank Group approved a $4 million grant aimed at strengthening the country\u2019s re-engagement with international creditors.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34776,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34774\/revisions\/34776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}