By Own Correspondent- The World Bank (WB) has projected that the currently spiralling price increases in Zimbabwe will have a negative impact on the country’s growth prospects.

Earlier this year, the World Bank projected that Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow by 3,7% in 2019 while Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube had put the growth rate at 3,1%.

Said WB Zimbabwe Chief Economist Marko Kwaramba:

“The increases in prices that we have witnessed since October last year will affect the growth rate for 2019. For 2018, in the first quarter the growth was real, but it was then disturbed by the last quarter.

“Zimbabwe at World Bank is classified as a fragile economy, but it is not fragile like Sudan or other countries that are in the warzone. The solution that has been propelled by those that have moved from fragility is to focus more on regional integration. So, Zimbabwe is a member of Sadc, African Union and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). If we facilitate intra-regional trade, then maybe they will be high growth for Zimbabwe”-Newsday .