By 
By Ross Moyo
Zimbabwe Owes has $9.4 billion off multilateral and bilateral debt outstanding, 78% of which is for penalties and arrears on both interest and principal, the AfDB said.
This has seen international capital markets locking the Southern African country out after it defaulted on its debts.
According to AFDB, the country, “owes Paris Club members $4.1 billion, with Germany, France, the UK, Japan and the US accounting of 76% of the amount, the bank said. It owes $2.1 billion to creditors outside of that group, the bulk of which is due to China.”
Zimbabwe’s lead financial adviser on debt-clearing plans, African Development Bank said the southern African nation had seen
“minimal structural transformation” over the past four decades,
“with the economy remaining heavily reliant on primary sectors such as agriculture and limited progress in transitioning to higher-value sectors such as manufacturing.”
The country’s public debt surged 55% to $21.2 billion in 2023 from two years earlier, primarily due to the inclusion of $3.5 billion it needs to repay to former farm owners and $3.7 billion of central-bank liabilities that the Treasury assumed.
Talks on restructuring Zimbabwe’s debt were put on hold early this year, by the United States of America bringing to a halt its involvement in Relations between Washington and Harare that have been strained for years remaining frosty after the US sanctioned President Emmerson Mnangagwa in March.
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