HARARE, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s government expects economic growth to accelerate to 6% in 2025 from 2% this year, helped by improved agricultural output and power generation as the country recovers from a severe drought, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.

Ncube added in a budget speech that the budget deficit was seen at 0.4% of gross domestic product next year versus 1.4% this year.

Like other countries in southern Africa, Zimbabwe’s economy was dealt a blow by an El Nino-induced drought which depressed food production and hydroelectric power supply.

Weaker lithium and platinum prices also weighed on its mining sector.

Ncube told lawmakers in parliament that the agriculture sector was projected to grow 12.8% in 2025 following a 15.0% contraction this year, while mining growth is seen accelerating to 5.6% next year from 2.3% in 2024.

Zimbabwe’s long-running currency problems persisted in 2024 as policymakers dumped the Zimdollar in April and replaced it with the ZiG, or Zimbabwe Gold, that has also slumped since its launch.

Ncube said without elaborating further that the government would next year seek to encourage greater acceptance of the ZiG by a sceptical public, who still use foreign currencies like the dollar for the bulk of local transactions.

(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono in Harare;Additional reporting by Tannur Anders and Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg;Editing by Alexander Winning, Kirsten Donovan)