The African Development Bank (AfDB) has awarded Zimbabwe a $53 million (R594 million) grant. $40 million of this is intended for water supply, sanitation and power infrastructure rehabilitation projects.

According to Reuters, Mateus Magala, who signed the grant agreement on behalf of AfDB, said that the bank was leading efforts to normalise ties between Harare and Western donors and clear its external debt of nearly $10 billion.

Zimbabwe currently produces 1 200 MW of electricity ‒ approximately half of the peak demand ‒ and water shortages have been an issue in the country for several years.

“Water and power remain critical for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and it is important the money is used for those purposes. What these loans say to Zimbabwe is that this is a second chance. This is an opportunity for Zimbabwe to take that second chance and demonstrate that they are able to live by whatever commercial obligations it has,” economic analyst Bekithemba Mhlanga told SW Radio Africa.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said at the signing ceremony that grant will go a long away in meeting the requirements of Zimbabwe’s economic blue print. The country which presented a $4.1 billion budget last year has been struggling to finance infrastructure projects.