Zimbabwe yesterday revealed a huge budget deficit for 2006 of Z$824bn (US$3.3bn). At 43 per cent of gross domestic product the deficit is more than double the 18.7 per cent figure estimated in mid-year.

But despite western economic sanctions and barriers to lending by multilateral institutions and foreign donors, finance minister Herbert Murerwa insisted the economy was beginning to recover. He announced growth of more than 6 per cent in agricultural output and almost 5 per cent in mining, but did not give a figure for overall GDP expansion in 2006.