Even as Zimbabwe asked neighbours for a R20 -billion loan package to
aid its collapsed economy, Mugabe refused to cede to demands to dismiss
central bank governor Gideon Gono and attorney-general Johannes Tomana.
I don't see any reason why those people should go and they will not
go, he said in an interview with the state Herald newspaper to mark
his 85th birthday.
Gono is widely blamed for Zimbabwe's economic meltdown and
hyperinflation of 231 million percent, while Tomana is accused of
blocking the release of political prisoners.
Zimbabwe's request for a loan to salvage its collapsed economy and
infrastructure was expected to dominate a two-day conference of the
15-nation Southern African Development Community in Cape Town.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on radio that Zimbabwe wanted about
R10- billion to kick-start retail and other sectors, and the rest to
help reopen schools and restore health and municipal services.
An estimated two-thirds of Zimbabweans are in need of food aid, and
cholera has infected 80000 people and killed more than 3800 since
August.
But other countries in Southern Africa have limited resources, and there is scepticism about how Zimbabwe will use the money.
The head of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, said
Zimbabwe must settle its existing debt before it could expect huge
foreign aid.
It is important not to jump off the bridge before there is enough water under it, he told reporters in Cape Town.
He said Harare owed the African Development Bank nearly R4-billion. That has to be fixed before we do anything else, he said.
Zimbabwe's debt to the international community was about R50- billion.
What is owed to the international financial institutions must be
settled in advance, before we move in. That can be done fairly quickly.
It is complex, but it's not impossible, Kaberuka said.
There are doubts about how much control new Finance Minister Tendai
Biti and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will have over the nation's
finances, given the power of Gono.
The Times
Post published in: News