Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) political, (b) economic, (c) social and (d) security situation in Zimbabwe.

The UK remains concerned about the political situation in Zimbabwe, particularly the lack of accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations, and the restrictions to the right to freedom of assembly. The UK regularly urges the Zimbabwean Government to live up to their own constitution and ensure the opposition, civil society and journalists are allowed to operate without harassment. My predecessor most recently raised the human rights situation in Zimbabwe with Foreign Minister Shava on 9 June.

Following two years of recession the Zimbabwean economy is recovering in part due to improvements in macro-economic management. However, the economy still faces severe challenges and remains fragile, largely due to ongoing corruption and a failure to properly address problems with the exchange rate and subsidies. The social situation is concerning with 49% of the population estimated to be in extreme poverty in 2020. Zimbabwe has achieved one of the highest rates of COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Africa.

We welcome Zimbabwe's recent commitment to the 'Kenyatta Declaration' to spend 20% of their budget on education. We continue to monitor social and economic developments closely, encouraging the Government of Zimbabwe to improve economic policy and management, while protecting the poorest. The security situation remains stable.