AFP, Harare | Tuesday
HOPES of an immediate resumption of aid to Zimbabwe by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are far-fetched because the government remained defiant on “non-negotiable” conditions.
The nation’s leading opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said that following their meeting with the visiting IMF team, it appeared unlikely aid would be resumed soon.
The IMF withheld aid from Zimbabwe last year over a burgeoning budget deficit, weak monetary policies, and a slow privatisation programme.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said his party’s economic experts presented the IMF team with the party’s proposals to create an economic turn-around in Zimbabwe.
“There are three issues to look at — one is (the return) to the rule of law, permanent resolution of the land question and the fundamentals on the economy,” Tsvangirai said in an interview.
For a solution to be found, Tsvangirai said all was dependent on how Mugabe handled the political situation.
“It is critical for the government to accept responsibility for lawlessness and start dealing with that issue before we even start talking about anything,” he said. “The problem is not economic. While symptoms are economic, the real problem is the political crisis.”
Although it was assumed the June elections would end the political crisis in the country, the opposition leader said it appeared the problem was still ongoing.
On the matter of the resumption of aid, Tsvangirai said: “Those three conditions are almost non-negotiable issues, and the government seems to be defiant on these issues, so how can we even expect assistance from these guys, or even to give a thumb of approval for other donors to respond to our request.”
The IMF team led by Paul Neuhaus met white commercial farmers to gather information on the goings-on in the agricultural sector, where production has been disrupted for most of this year.
More than 1600 white commercial farms have been invaded by landless villagers since February, prompting the government to start seizing at least five million hectares of land from white farmers.
Commercial Farmers Union director, David Hasluck said they could not provide the IMF with crop projections “because of the current uncertainties of the minister (of lands) saying he’s going to acquire 3041 farms before the rains.”