The Washington-based major international financial power house, says this has put major "strain on the National Budget and brought many challenges for its payroll".
World Bank Country Director for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Kundhavi Kadiresan, who was in Zimbabwe, said: "Some of the Budget challenges in Zimbabwe include wages being over 60 percent of the government budget, capital budgets and non-salary expenditures squeezed, as well as rising government revenue which is now more than 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."
Kadiresan, who held several meetings with ministers responsible for the country's economic portfolios, said Zimbabwe's economy was growing "albeit at a very slow pace, especially in social sector expenditures".
"There has been a steady increase of old projects coming to completion," she said in Harare. "There has also been a steady agricultural and mining recovery in terms of revenue and output."
Kadiresan revealed that the World Bank's Multi-Donor Trust Fund had set aside US$16 million to establish the groundwork for re-engagement by development partners in Zimbabwe through various assistant projects.
The World Bank boss, however, said Zimbabwe still owed international donors US$8,8 billion in arrears and needed to repay them before more financial help could be given. She said the country still owed her organisation about US$2,3 billion to-date.
Kadiresan said the MDTF would, among other things, analyse work on the key development challenges facing Zimbabwe, develop suitable instruments to help the Government of Zimbabwe and donors to respond quickly to changing country conditions, and improve donor coordination.
Zimbabwe was unceremoniously booted out of the World Bank's prestigious begging club for continually failing to repay outstanding debts.
The Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti, has told the government and the World Bank that the Republic of Zimbabwe currently "does not have a single cent in its coffers".
According to the World Bank, Zimbabwe's GDP growth rate currently stands at about 8 percent, while inflation is pegged "conservatively" at about four percent.
Post published in: News