Zimbabwe’s growing public debt remains a major obstacle to sustainable development and the realisation of socio-economic rights. As of December 2025, the country’s public debt stood at approximately US$21.5 billion, with debt servicing obligations estimated at US$886 million.
These obligations continue to crowd out public expenditure on critical sectors such as health, education, water, sanitation, social protection, and infrastructure.
While ongoing efforts towards debt restructuring and arrears clearance are important, equal attention must be directed towards strengthening domestic resource mobilisation as a sustainable pathway for financing development and reducing reliance on borrowing.
The recent recovery of more than US$540.7 million and ZiG4.63 billion in unpaid taxes by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) exposes the enormous domestic revenue potential that remains untapped within the economy.
These recoveries also reveal the extent of tax evasion and illicit financial practices that continue to deprive the State of resources needed to fulfil its development obligations.
For Zimcodd, domestic resource mobilisation remains one of the most sustainable and equitable mechanisms for financing development, creating fiscal space, and reducing dependence on deb
The recovered revenues demonstrate that substantial resources already exist within Zimbabwe’s economy but are not reaching the national fiscus due to weak compliance and enforcement gaps.
Rather than introducing additional taxes that disproportionately affect ordinary citizens, government should prioritise measures that strengthen tax compliance among high-net-worth individuals, large corporations, and other economically powerful actors.
- War over super car stuck in river
- Zimra seizes CCC campaign vehicle
- Redcliff invests in health facilities
- Crime tech: Technology can eradicate corruption
Keep Reading
Ensuring that those with greater economic capacity contribute fairly towards national development is essential for building a sustainable and inclusive economy.
Zimra’s findings point to widespread tax non-compliance among some wealthy individuals and large businesses, despite workers and consumers consistently contributing through Pay As You Earn (Paye), Value Added Tax (VAT), and other consumption-based taxes.
This uneven tax burden places greater pressure on low-income households while limiting government’s capacity to finance essential public services.
The result is a tax system that risks deepening existing inequalities and undermining public trust.
The recoveries further highlight the significant wealth being generated in sectors such as mining, commercial agriculture, luxury real estate, private healthcare, and private education.
Yet contributions from some actors within these sectors remain disproportionately low relative to their economic gains.
Zimcoddtherefore maintains that a fair and progressive tax system is critical for promoting equity, strengthening domestic resource mobilisation, and advancing inclusivedevelopment.
Those who derive the greatest benefit from the economy should contribute proportionately towards thepublic goods and services that sustain it.
The growing use of data analytics, business intelligence systems, and digital audit tools by Zimra has demonstrated the potential of technology to curb revenue leakages and improve tax administration.
However, technology alone cannot deliver tax justice.
Effective domestic resource mobilisation requires strong political will, institutional independence, transparency, and consistent enforcement of tax laws without fear or favour. Tax compliance efforts must extend beyond small businesses and ordinary citizens to address large-scale tax evasion, aggressive tax avoidance, and illicit financial flows involving wealthy individuals and corporations.
Zimbabwe’s debt sustainability challenge cannot be resolved through debt restructuring alone.
Sustainable solutionsrequire strengthening domestic revenue generation, improving tax equity, and ensuring that public resources are mobilised and utilised in a manner that advances social justice and inclusive development.
Expanding fiscal space through fair taxation can reduce dependence on borrowing while enhancing government’s capacity to invest in public services and productive sectors of the economy.
Zimcodd welcomes Zimra’s intensified tax enforcement efforts, which resulted in the recovery of over US$540 million in unpaid taxes during 2025.
These recoveries demonstrate the significant potential of domestic resourcemobilisation as a sustainable source of development finance.
However, greater emphasis should be placed on strengthening compliance among high-income earners, wealthy individuals, multinational corporations, and highly profitable sectors of the economy.
A fair, transparent, and progressive tax system is central to reducing debt dependence, expanding fiscal space, and supporting the attainment of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
Sustainable debt management requires more than limiting new borrowing.
It demands deliberate efforts to mobilise domestic resources and ensure that those with the greatest ability to pay contribute their fair share towards Zimbabwe’s development
Recommendations
1.Strengthen tax compliance among high-income earners, large corporations, and multinational enterprises through enhanced risk-based audits, beneficial ownership transparency, and measures to curb aggressive tax avoidance.
2.Deepen domestic resource mobilisation by improving tax administration, expanding the use of digital technologies, and addressing revenue leakages rather than increasing the tax burden on low-income households.
3.Promote progressive taxation policies that place greater responsibility on wealthy individuals and highly profitable sectors while protecting vulnerable groups from regressive taxation.
4.Ensure transparency and accountability in the utilisation of recovered revenues by prioritising investments in health, education, water, sanitation, social protection, and productive infrastructure that support inclusive and sustainable development.
5.Strengthen parliamentary oversight, citizen participation, and public accountability mechanisms to ensure that mobilised domestic resources are managed effectively and contribute to improved service delivery.
