Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube in a statement revealed that foreign remittances now supersede foreign aid in Zimbabwe.
According to data by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe recorded a whopping $940 million in diasporan remittances last year breaking a new record, and is a significant increase from the prior year at $635.7 million.
The minister explains that the increase could be as a result of using more formal channels that were operational during the pandemic. Ncube revealed that the situation is not only peculiar in Zimbabwe but is replicated across other African countries, which are seeing a significant increase in diasporan remittances which is taking over typical foreign aid.
In his words, those remittances are fast evolving into some kind of aid for Zimbabwe
“In fact what is happening all over Africa is that diaspora remittances have overtaken foreign aid. In almost all countries, remittances have overtaken foreign aid as the largest inflow into the economy to support vulnerable families because that is what the diaspora does. They support their families.”
Mthuli Ncube