The 2026 statement of proposed income and expenditure, with breakdowns for each ministry, marks the next phase of Zimbabwe’s rapidly evolving economic trajectory. The budget will maintain Zimbabwe’s strict fiscal discipline with all recurrent and most capital expenditure paid out of taxes, and the deficit limited to specific capital programmes and being under 3 percent of GDP. Economic analysts expect the fiscal statement to outline additional policy measures to anchor the prevailing macroeconomic stability, improve Zimbabwe’s business climate and accelerate growth.
The 2026 fiscal plan coincides with the end of the five-year National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which has set the economy on a strong footing for durable and accelerated growth going forward, with the NDS2 soon to be launched expected to provide the broad framework and targets for the next half decade. The 2026 National Budget, therefore, is essentially a microcosm of the broader NDS 2 policy framework expected to usher Zimbabwe into upper-middle-income status by 2030. The vision is being pursued through sequential five-year development strategies, the NDS 1 & 2, and aligns with global frameworks, notably the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, to achieve inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development. Treasury has promised a spending plan that consolidates recent gains while steering the economy towards higher productivity and competitiveness.
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