OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Tuesday 3.30pm.
THE International Monetary Fund’s executive board confirmed this week it is due to meet early next month in Washington to consider releasing an emergency $53-million balance of payments support for Zimbabwe under a standby credit arrangement. This announcement raises hopes that other lenders and donors which have been sitting on the fence will resume financial support for the country.
The meeting comes amid heightened hopes that Zimbabwe, which has seen its balance of payments deteriorate over recent months, will finally get a life-line from the Washington-based institution. The IMF Africa staff is understood to have recommended that the facility be extended to Zimbabwe. The IMF has already released the first tranche of $1-billion under the same facility but has since withheld the other funds without going public about any sticking points.
The local office of the IMF this week confirmed that the crucial meeting which comes as Zimbabwe is battling to stabilise its finances, is set down for December 11. The meeting is a culmination of several visits to Zimbabwe by an IMF team headed by Michael Nowak during the course of the year and comes amid fears that the Reserve Bank does not have sufficient reserves to weather the currency run, which has seen the local unit hit historic lows against the dollar.
Commentators said the release of the funds, the second and third tranches of the money the fund pledged to loan to Zimbabwe under the standby credit arrangement, could trigger an inflow of foreign capital, enabling the country to stave off the economic contagion that began in East Asia.
Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa, whose 1999 budget speech many said had the IMF stamp, indicated that the support funds from the World Bank and other donors would be released before the end of the year. — Pana
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