What a senior government official told the Zimbabwe Independent this week — that Harare is engaging the World Bank’s political risk insurance arm, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), to help de-risk Zimbabwe — is an admission that our risk profile has become too heavy for government assurances to carry on their own.
On paper, this looks like good news. International investors now require an external referee to believe Zimbabwe is serious about reform. After two decades of capital flight, disputed elections, arbitrary policy shifts and interventions in private property, this moment was inevitable. The real question is whether Zimbabwe is prepared for the costs and obligations that accompany it.
Securing MIGA guarantees is not a paper exercise. It is expensive and institutionally demanding. Beyond the standard premiums, administrative fees and due-diligence costs, the true price lies in the reforms Zimbabwe must implement to qualify. MIGA does not insure countries based on political speeches. It insures conduct. By this, I mean consistent, predictable, rules-based conduct, not the chaos that has characterised much of our post-independence economic management.
If Zimbabwe wants MIGA’s backing, it must re-establish the rule of law, stabilise its currency framework, respect contracts, and build a regulatory environment that does not swing violently, frequently.
Ironically, these are the very same issues demanded under the ongoing debt-resolution re-engagement process. None of this is cosmetic. It requires discipline at the very top of the state. It is encouraging that government officials seem fully aware of the magnitude of what they are attempting.
Speaking to the Independent in Morocco, Matthew Sangu, a senior official in the ministry of Finance, made the point plainly. We must “stick to what we have put up front”.
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The country cannot announce a budget in December and reverse things in March. It cannot promise investors one position on Monday and issue a statutory instrument contradicting it on Friday. MIGA will be watching for evidence that government follows its own roadmap consistently. That consistency is the first test Zimbabwe must pass if it is to convince the World Bank that it is a credible candidate for guarantees.
But even if Zimbabwe secures MIGA backing, that alone will not magically transform global investor sentiment. Guarantees reduce fear; they do not create enthusiasm. Investors still need clarity on how their capital will move in and out of the country. They need utilities with balance sheets strong enough to support major projects, especially in energy, where opportunities are blossoming.
They require time-bound and transparent regulatory processes, predictable tariffs and procurement systems that do not shift with political winds. Above all, they need assurance that the currency they earn today will still be convertible tomorrow. These deeper structural barriers sit beneath the MIGA conversation. Addressing them demands political courage, not technical workshops.
Do we need to go to these lengths to attract investment? Yes. The country has burnt too many bridges to rely on goodwill. Investors have alternatives that offer predictable rules, transparent regulation and institutions strong enough to keep politics from compromising contracts.
These countries have long moved past rhetoric. Rwanda digitised its regulatory ecosystem and built a reputation for institutional discipline. Senegal and Mozambique relied on MIGA and other multilaterals to de-risk large energy projects.
Zimbabwe cannot remain an outlier and expect a different outcome. Engagement with MIGA is not simply about unlocking money. It is about restoring credibility. It signals readiness to anchor the country to global standards of governance, transparency and accountability.
If Harare follows through, stabilising the currency regime, protecting property rights, respecting contracts and keeping policy where it was originally placed, investor confidence will eventually return.
If not, even the strongest guarantees will be meaningless.
This is a rare opening. Managed well, it could become Zimbabwe’s passport back into the global investment community. Let’s go for it!