THE Zimbabwean government denied on Thursday that it needs an extra Z$1,2-billion ($31-million) to finance its military operations in the Congo where it is backing President Laurent Kabila against rebel forces. Defence Minister Moven Mahachi dismissed a report in the weekly independent newspaper Financial Gazette that he submitted a request to President Robert Mugabe’s cabinet for a supplementary defence budget. Mahachi did not comment on a report in another newspaper, The Daily News, that Zimbabwe was recruiting more people into the army and would probably boost the number of troops by a quarter to 40000 from 30000. The Gazette, quoting official sources, said Mugabe made it clear that he wanted the request to be processed quickly.
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