But the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the
African Development Bank (AfDB) were cutting through all the emotion
and set tough demands that a senior economic minister admitted cannot
be met.
The institutions, which sent a delegation to Zimbabwe for the first
time since 2006, want Zimbabwe to pay old debts before it receives any
new aid and also demand major cuts in social spending at a time when
the country is desperate to ease a massive humanitarian crisis.
Elton Mangoma, minister for economic planning, said Zimbabwe is not in any position to pay off its debts.
State media has been upbeat on the visit, raising hopes of financial
aid. But IMF Africa director Antoinette Sayeh said the country must
first clear outstanding arrears before getting new support.
The new government needs foreign aid to survive, but a combination of
international scepticism about the coalition government and the global
financial crisis may keep Zimbabwe from accessing support.
In meetings with government and central bank officials the delegation made repeated demands for Zimbabwe to honour its debts.
Zimbabwe owed US$89-million to the IMF at the end of February,
US$600-million to the World Bank and US$429-million to the AfDB, whose
head, Donald Kaberuka, said that Zimbabwe must settle its existing debt
before it can expect new aid.
A senior Zimbabwe treasury official told the Mail & Guardian last week: "If we were in any position to repay our debts, we wouldn’t need to ask for aid, would we?"
Mangoma admitted that Zimbabwe faces tough conditions from the IMF and
the World Bank. "The funding will be a result of two things — the
credibility of our plan and our ability to deliver on set policies and
how the institutions think we will be able to do what we are saying we
will do."
The IMF has shown unease with the fact that the bulk of state spending,
much of it funded by donor money, is going into salaries for civil
servants. Whereas poor pay has whittled down the size of the civil
service, the IMF wants to see even further "rationalisation" of the
government payroll, one business leader said.
The financial institutions also want cuts on overall social spending.
But in the unity government Tsvangirai has control of most of the
social ministries and is desperate to bring visible relief. With
elections within 24 months, the MDC hopes to use its position to win
the loyalty of the civil service, police and the army.
Officials close to the mission note that the institutions are critical
of the new government’s spending. Both parties appointed more ministers
than allowed by the Constitution, and each of the 71 Cabinet members
has been awarded an SUV and a full complement of aides.
Mail & Guardian Online
Post published in: News