Zimbabweans living abroad managed to send a whooping US$1,9 billion in the first nine months of 2024 on the back of a sound international reserve position, the 2025 National Budget has revealed.
Official records confirm that diaspora remittances accounted for about 16% of foreign currency that came into Zimbabwe, more than foreign investors and second only to exports, which are the biggest forex earners.
Presenting the statistics Thursday, Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube said diaspora remittances continued to demonstrate resilient growth over the years.
"Diaspora remittances grew by 16,5%, from US$1,6 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2023 to US$1,9 billion in the corresponding period in 2024. Remittances will continue to drive the current account surplus and are projected to close 2024 at US$2,49 billion, and improve to US$251 billion in 2025," he said.
Ncube also revealed that the country's international reserve position at the Reserve Bank increased significantly from US$285 million on 5 April 2024 (ZiG launch), to about US$540 million as of 31 October 2024.
This improvement, he said, is primarily attributed to deliberate reserve accumulation strategy, which has enhanced both foreign currency cash and gold holdings in nostro balances, providing adequate coverage for ZiG reserve money.
Going forward, Ncube said the Central will continue to build international reserves to provide a buffer for ZiG stability and sufficient import cover.
"Prices for goods and services have relatively been stable following the introduction of Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) in April 2024. Month-on-month ZiG inflation declined by -2.4% in May 2024, and averaged 0.0% in the second quarter of the year.
"However, inflation pressures emerged in August to October 2024, attributable to a surge in parallel market foreign exchange activities, which worsened adverse inflation expectations.
"Consequently, the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) implemented stabilisation measures that included increasing the bank policy rate and standardizing statutory reserve requirements for deposits.
"The MPC also allowed greater exchange rate flexibility and reduced the limit on foreign exchange individuals can take out of the country. The local currency depreciated to US$1: ZiG25, while the amount that can be taken out of the country was reduced from US$10 000 to US$2 000," added Ncube.
