/ 17 June 2011

Mugabe shakes Zuma down for $50m bailout

Mugabe Shakes Zuma Down For $50m Bailout

Zimbabwe has asked South Africa for a $50-million rescue package for struggling companies in Bulawayo, The Herald in Harare reported on Friday.

It said the matter was raised in a meeting between Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg last Friday.

Zimbabwean presidential spokesperson George Charamba confirmed the request, saying Zuma had agreed to look into ways his government could assist.

Charamba said a figure of $50-million had been mentioned as a possible rescue package for ailing companies in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s industrial hub.

The firms were failing to access cheap finance for recapitalisation, causing many of them to close down or scale down operations.

As a result, thousands of workers were losing their jobs to the street.

Mugabe told Zuma some of the firms required as little as $500 000 to revive operations, Charamba told The Herald. — Sapa