Govt sets up debt clearance committee

via Govt sets up debt clearance committee – NewZimbabwe 20 May 2015

GOVERNMENT has set up a committee to come up with strategies and ways of settling the country’s ballooning external debt.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa made the announcement in Harare, Tuesday evening after a closed door meeting with senior representatives of the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

Chinamasa said the committee will work on possible options which Zimbabwe could take in order to clear its debt.

Zimbabwe is struggling with a near $10 billion external debt which is preventing the country from accessing fresh capital from multilateral institutions.

If Zimbabwe clears its external debt it will be able to borrow long term capital from these institutions.

“I am hoping that this committee should come up with options that we can adopt in time for the next meeting of the financial institutions which shall be held in Peru-Lima in October,” said Chinamasa.

“So, by that time we should have something we think we should take to those we think can support us in implementing those options or any of those options”.

“But do not keep asking us next month how far are you, we will not tell you and we will remain mum, even where we adopt any options these will remain privy to us and the organizations that we are working with,” said Chinamasa to journalists jokingly.

Until we are able to put this to those we would have identified to support us in implementing those options of course including the financial institutions because they are very much key”.

Chinamasa said the Reserve Bank Governor John Mangudya will be chairing the debt clearance strategy committee which comprises officials from the Finance Ministry and members of the African Development Bank, International Monitory Fund and the World Bank.

African Development Bank board member Mahomed Rafique Jusob Mahomed said for Zimbabwe to come up with an acceptable debt clearance strategy it should engage all stakeholders.

“You need to have fresh money in this country but for that you need to clear the arrears. We need to engage all parties involved ….and at the end of the day what we want is a prosperous Zimbabwe,” he said.