via Bulawayo24 NEWS | Zimbabwe pays almost R2 billion to service Chinese loans 10 September 2014
Zimbabwe has spent $180m (about R2bn) in unbudgeted expenditure to service outstanding loans from China in an effort to improve relations and encourage new financial support, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Wednesday.
“In the first six months of this year we have had to cough up $180m, which was not in the budget, just to make ourselves look good,” Chinamasa told business leaders in Harare.
Chinamasa last month accompanied President Robert Mugabe on a state visit to China where the veteran leader sought support to help a struggling economy.
China and Zimbabwe signed several cooperation deals during a visit to Beijing by long-time Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Chinese media reported late on Monday.
Official data show China has extended $1bn in loans to Zimbabwe since 2009 and trade between the two nations rose to $1bn last year from $300m five years ago.
In August Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya said exports, mostly minerals and tobacco, were down 13% in the first half of the year, to $1.3bn, compared with the first six months of 2013.
China will help Zimbabwe build special economic zones and industrial parks to jump-start exports and a struggling economy, its ambassador to Harare said on Thursday as a Chinese firm started expanding the country’s largest hydro-power plant.
COMMENTS
ummm so Zim spends USD180 million to try and look good when its not good and millions more on trips to China and still have nothing tangible to show for it.Is it because of China or because most of that USD180 million is sitting in individuals’ bank accounts
Cough up as much as you want to look good!!! You can’t buy good looks unfortunately a thief is a thief is a thief no matter what he’s wearing.
This goes to show how irresponsible Zpf and its government is. It is now drowning the entire nation of Zimbabwe into debts to benefit Zpf as a party. Part of this debt was accumulated during the GNU era. Therefore Zpf and Mdc are to blame for this irresponsible borrowing. The answer to this problem is to get rid of the Chinese before they colonize us. Also get rid of Zpf in 2018. China is growing economically while we toil day and night to pay interest on Zpf irresponsible borrowing. MaChaina ngaabude muno apedza hupfumi hwedu. Tiri kusikirwa hurombo neZpf.
These guys will never repay the Chinese in full.
Mr president Mugabe if you do not honestly know why you avoided by some world leaders the reason is that you have a ‘pungent’ smell of ‘blood & death’ of the children of Zimbabwe you have butchered over years. May I also remind you that when your time comes you will realise that you will not have body guards on your for judgement and all those people you murdered or caused to be killed will be waiting for you by the wayside. No praise singers around you and eventually giving an account to the ‘Almighty’ with the victims asking the Lord when will their shed blood be avenged. Ndipo pauchaziva kuti hauzi tsotsi.
Correct. Its all in individual zpf shefu accounts. Clever money laundering
I think they will pay the Chinese in full because the amounts they announce are not the correct figures but the inflated figures. So if the Chinese give them USD24 million they say it was USD 4billion and the difference is spirited away to some foreign accounts. So in the future they will pay the Chinese their USD24 million plus interest so say USD40 million in total but then from there onwards the payments will be into Swiss accounts then at some stage they will say we cannot pay but by that time they would have paid off the Chinese and would have laundered maybe a billion or two. The Chinese will be happy for they would have been paid their USD40 million. Im sure you see how the racket works
So the interest and loan repayments weren’t even in the budget! Says a lot really and then they still come away empty handed, good work boys trumped by the Chinese once more.
If loan repayments aren’t in the budget that’s not a budget but its shows everyone and all investors that zanupf have no intention of repaying any loans as these are not considered in their budgets.
“In the first six months of this year we have had to cough up $180m, which was not in the budget, just to make ourselves look good,”
So the FInance Minister did not include any payments on outstanding loans in the annual budget? Did he not feel that they should be paid… on time? Isn’t that his job?
Presumably, that was not enough for the Chinese, because they only gave Mugabe chump change.
I guess he didn’t look very good to them, right?
Putting lipstick on a pig’s lips