Zimbabwe has ranked third in Sub-Saharan Africa and second in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the 2025 Open Budget Survey (OBS), underscoring gains in fiscal transparency and public financial management reforms.
The survey, conducted by the International Budget Partnership, assesses countries on budget transparency, public participation and oversight.
In a statement, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion said Zimbabwe scored 62 out of 100 on the Open Budget Index (OBI), well above the Sub-Saharan African average of 38 and higher than the international benchmark for adequate public access to budget information.
“The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion is pleased to announce that Zimbabwe has once again recorded a strong performance in the 2025 Open Budget Survey (OBS), reaffirming Government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and sound public financial management,” the ministry said.
The ranking places Zimbabwe behind only South Africa and Benin in Sub-Saharan Africa, while positioning it as the second-best performer in the SADC region.
“This achievement reflects Government’s continued efforts to strengthen fiscal transparency, improve public access to budget information and implement public financial management reforms under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030,” the ministry said.
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Authorities attributed the improved score to reforms aimed at enhancing budget disclosure, accountability and public access to fiscal information.
Despite the progress, the government acknowledged the need to strengthen public participation in the budget process.
To address this, the ministry said nationwide budget consultations for the 2027 National Budget will be held between July and December next year, providing citizens, civil society organisations, youth, women, persons with disabilities and business representatives with opportunities to contribute to fiscal planning.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube reaffirmed the government’s commitment to deepening transparency and citizen engagement.
“Government remains committed to further enhancing budget transparency, expanding citizen-friendly budget information, strengthening oversight mechanisms and institutionalising public participation throughout the budget cycle,” the ministry said.
The ministry also acknowledged the contributions of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Office of the Auditor-General, UNICEF and the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations in advancing public financial management reforms.