Debt deal must not amplify Zim pain — UN’s position

📅 Published: August 16, 2025

📰 Source: theindependent

Curated by AllZimNews.com

In a world where multilateral institutions are often accused of advancing the interests of powerful nations at the expense of weaker economies, Zimbabwe has long felt the chill of global scepticism.

From sanctions to high interest loans, the country’s path to recovery has been stalked by the perception that few in the international arena genuinely have its back.

Yet, in a rare alignment of principle and compassion, the United Nations (UN) has openly pushed back against a debt resolution path that traps Zimbabwe in deeper hardship.

In this candid exchange, our senior reporter Freeman Makopa (FM) speaks to Sirak Gebrehiwot (SG, pictured), the UN’s Partnerships and Development Finance Advisor at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Zimbabwe, on how the organisation is framing debt, investment, and development to ensure the country’s recovery does not come at the cost of its people.

Here is how the interaction turned out:
FM:Global development financing faces a US$4 trillion annual shortfall.

What is the UN’s strategy?

And how does this relate to Zimbabwe?

SG:The UN has facilitated the high level Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, bringing together Heads of State and Government and High Representatives in Sevilla, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, 2025.

This was meant to renew the global financing for development framework, building on the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

Here in Zimbabwe, the UN’s strategic engagement is guided by the 2022–2026 Zimbabwe UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework with a total multi-year funding framework of US$2,8 billion.

By the end of 2024, the third year of implementation, the UN had delivered programmes and projects worth US$1,5 billion under four SDG pillars: people, planet, prosperity, and peace.

While delivering on its five-year commitment to support Zimbabwe’s SDG progress, the UN has begun consultations to roll out a new cooperation framework in 2027.