USAID Strategic Economic Research & Analysis – Zimbabwe (SERA) Program Quarterly Progress Report

The program is implemented by Nathan Associates Inc. under contract number AID-613-C-11-00001. The SERA program is focused on providing technical assistance to various stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (ZEPARU), the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED). The program's technical services are divided into several areas, including assistance to ZEPARU, assistance to other parties, and assistance to ZIMSTAT. In the area of assistance to ZEPARU, the program continues to support the unit in training economists, both short-term and long-term. The short-term training program involves the planning of a third phase of the Financial Programming and Policies (FPP) training, which will be implemented during Quarter 19. This training aims to further examine and eliminate data discrepancies and provide additional conceptual training in the financial programming framework. The long-term training program involves the support of three female government economists pursuing the part-time M.Sc. program in Economics at the University of Zimbabwe. The group is comprised of one economist each from ZIMRA, the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenization, and Empowerment, and the Ministry of Transport, Communication, and Infrastructural Development. The three students are in their final year and are scheduled to complete their studies during Quarter 20. Additionally, the program continues to support two economists pursuing part-time Ph.D. programs in Economics at South African universities. The program also provides technical assistance to other parties, including the mining sector, the pension industry, and the business community. In the area of mining revenue transparency, the program provides support to the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (COMZ) in developing a framework for the disclosure of mining revenue. The program also provides support to the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) in reforming the pension industry. In the area of business, the program provides support to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) in conducting a Transactional Corruption in Business Survey. The program's implementation of the work plan is overseen by the Chief of Party, Daniel B. Ndlela. The program's performance is monitored through a set of indicators, which are outlined in Annex 2 of the report. The program's challenges are discussed in Section 8 of the report, and the planning for the next quarter is outlined in Section 9. Overall, the SERA program is focused on providing technical assistance to various stakeholders in Zimbabwe, with a goal of improving the country's economic policy framework.