ZIMBABWEAN Finance Minister Simba Makoni has pledged that his country would repay its international debt, but said it could not happen without the help of the international community.
“We are seeking to normalise our relationships with the international community, and one aspect will be to fulfil our obligation to our international creditors,” Makoni told a press conference at the World Economic Forum (WEF) southern Africa economic summit in Durban on Thursday.
Zimbabwe has been plagued by spiralling inflation, job losses on a massive scale, political violence, and the often violent invasion of some 1,700 white-owned farms, issues which “seriously concerned” the WEF, the fund’s managing director Frederic Sicre said before the summit.
Over the past two years, Zimbabwe had run up a bill of $600-million to international creditors, and the government was committed to paying it back, Makoni said.
“We are committed to fulfilling those obligations, but it is also quite clear that our economy in its present state in no condition to generate by itself not only $600-million to liquidate the arrears, but also to take forward additional obligations,” he said.
The minister said Zimbabwe needed the support of the world, and was in discussions on financial assistance with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Commission.
Makoni and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai put up a brave united front earlier when they took centre stage at the conference, both telling a packed conference hall they were acting in the best interests of Zimbabwe, and that it needed help.
They agreed political stability was essential before Zimbabwe’s economy could recover.
At least 400 Zimbabwean manufacturing firms closed last year while 750 companies laid off nearly 10_000 workers, according to a recent study by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries.
“There is a consensus for the need for land reform, but we don’t need violence, to kill or to maim and rape,” Tsvangirai said.
“Morgan is right on the need for law and order,” Makoni told delegates, but said on the farm invasions: “What happened on the ground was not the official programme of the government.”
WEF founder and president Klaus Schwab told Makoni and Tsvangirai at a press conference afterwards that their presence at the summit was an indication that progress would be made to resolve Zimbabwe’s problems.
“Your presence here (holds) a certain promise, but also a certain danger,” he said.
“The world has become very impatient, and this dialogue here will have to lead to a resolution of the crisis.”
He asked both Makoni and Tsvangirai for their hopes for Zimbabwe over the next year.
“I would like to see a peaceful Zimbabwe,” said Makoni.
“I would like to see a Zimbabwe that does not take centre stage at a summit like this,” said Tsvangirai.
Makoni who privately calls himself “minister without finance” ended on a light note: “I would also like to see a Zimbabwe where South African tourists will be able to drive to our national parks without fear of running out of petrol, and German tourists staying in hotels without thinking they have to share their bedroom with a war veteran.”
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