FRANCISTOWN: Government officials from both Zimbabwe and Botswana are expected to meet next Friday at a venue yet to be confirmed in Gaborone to finalize on the modalities towards the release of a P500 million credit line to Harare. The two governments have set September 3-5, 2010 to meet and iron out all outstanding issues particularly from the Zimbabwean side.
The credit line is Botswanas contribution towards reviving Zimbabwes economy through the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP).
Southern African Development Community (SADC) came up with the programme to help Zimbabwe and approached international financers such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund and European Union for assistance.
After offering the P500million credit line, Botswana ordered Zimbabwe to first sign an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) before she could entertain any hopes of receiving a massive credit line from her neighbor.
Botswana government approached the Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) and enjoined a Botswana based banks to carry the risk with the government of Botswana acting as the guarantor.
BOCCIM proposed that the government should ensure that such assistance should benefit the country in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, tourism, steel and energy.
It was also proposed that before the Botswana based commercial banks and businesses could release the money, both governments should sign the IPA to ensure that the local business interests would be protected.
BOCCIM Executive Director, Maria Machailo-Ellis told The Zimbabwean in an interview that the delays in releasing the money was due to Botswanas concerns over the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed between ZANU PF and the two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in September 2008.
Post published in: Agriculture