Published: 11 October 2013

BANKERS will converge on Nyanga next week for an uncharacteristic summer banking school that will discuss domestic economic growth that has started to lose steam.

The banking school is normally held in winter but this did not happen this year due to the watershed elections Zimbabwe held on July 31 following the expiry of the inclusive Government.

With elections successfully held and gone, bankers have shifted attention to discussing their perspective on what they believe should be done to rescue faltering domestic economic growth.

Institute of Bankers Zimbabwe of Zimbabwe executive director Mr Sij Biyam said this year's banking school seeks to proffer the bankers and economists' view to imperatives for economic growth.

"Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamasa will be the keynote speaker. Other speakers drawn from the banking sector, industry and the World Bank will speak (on various topics)," Mr Biyam said.

The summer school and discussions on the economy come at a time Zimbabwe's economic recovery growth rate is projected to decline from 5 percent registered last year to 4,5 percent.

The economy has been declining and this has been evident in the below forecast economic growth figures resulting from poor performance in agriculture due to spells of bad weather in some parts of the country and the sudden sharp decline in global prices of major minerals.

This has slowed down Zimbabwe's economic recovery, which averaged 7,1 percent since dollarisation; at $8,1 billion in 2009, $9,4 billion in 2010, $10,9 billion in 2011 and $12,4 billion in 2012.

Topics for discussion will include ways of leveraging mining for economic growth, enhancing agricultural productivity, positioning the financial sector as the nerve centre for growth and building confidence to maximise investment and ways to boost contribution of tourism to growth.

Further, the summer banking school will deliberate on how to maximise the contribution of small to medium enterprises to economic growth, mobilising domestic savings through financial inclusion and reinvigorating the manufacturing sector to address high levels of unemployment.

Mr Biyam said it is hoped that the forum will help the Government to formulate policies and measures that would enhance economic growth with agriculture and mining as the centrepieces.

This comes at a time that industrial capacity utilisation has gone down for the second year running after it plunged 5 percent to 39,6 percent, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries said.

A number of factors have been cited for the decline and include shortage of power, affordable long-term funding, competition from imports, high cost of labour and utilities among others.
- herald