Zimbabwe will see better-than-expected economic growth of 4.7 percent this year, ending a decade of financial ruin, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Wednesday in his first annual budget speech. The growth marks the first time that Zimbabwe's economy has grown in 12 years, after a decade of stunning hyperinflation that impoverished the nation. The new figure tops earlier estimates of 3.7 percent growth, due to stronger performance in mining and agriculture, he said. 'We are now expecting to register a higher growth rate of 4.7 percent by the end of the year,' he told parliament. 'We are expecting the economy to grow by 7.0 percent in 2010.' Zimbabwe halted its economic freefall this year by abandoning its local currency, left worthless by inflation estimated in multiples of billions. Biti again ruled out a return of the Zimbabwe dollar, saying the country would continue to allow use of foreign currencies such as the US dollar and the South African rand. Biti, a top ally of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, took over the finance portfolio in February at the swearing-in of the unity government with long- ruling President Robert Mugabe, following disputed elections last year. 