via ‘Zim should ask for debt forgiveness’ November 4, 2013 by Njabulo Ncube for NewsDay
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s new administration has been urged to beg for debt forgiveness from the West as the country seeks to stimulate growth in the coming 12 months.
Zimbabwe’s external debt is estimated at over $10 billion.
Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa came back empty-handed after meetings with officials from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month.
Chinamasa told Members of Parliament attending the pre-budget summit that he had productive engagements last month with the two Bretton Woods institutions over rescheduling of Zimbabwe’s debt, but was told that there was no way the West would cancel the country’s long outstanding arrears.
But, Gift Chimanikire, theMDC-T legislator and former Deputy Mines minister said Zimbabwe should swallow its pride and beg the West to cancel the arrears.
“We should ask for debt forgiveness. It has happened elsewhere, why not Zimbabwe?” Chimanikire said, much to the delight of the more than 300 legislators from Zanu and the two MDC formations.
He added: “But this needs diplomacy.”
Chinamasa chipped in, saying he would continue engaging the West, particularly the Bretton Woods institution as the country seeks to deal with its foreign debts.
He disclosed that an IMF team would be in Harare tomorrow.
“I am encouraged by the engagement although they told me Zimbabwe does not qualify for debt forgiveness. Zimbabwe has no capacity to pay its foreign debts, but we will continue engaging,” he said.
The pre-budget conference ended yesterday.
COMMENTS
Under Zanu PF and President Mugabe’s leadership, Zimbabwe has
become one of the most indigenised and empowered countries in
the developing world in terms of the untold livelihood opportunities that have been availed to the indigenous population.
The opportunities have widened and deepened since independence
as a direct result of Zanu PF’s pro-people policies such as the hugely successful land reform programme which is now widely acknowledged as a major source of economic prosperity for the country.Thanks to the leadership of Zanu PF, the people’s responses to these challenges have been gallantly exemplary.
Zanu PF’s pro-people policy interventions have always been informed by an unwavering determination and revolutionary commitment to address and meet the goals of all Zimbabweans
regardless of their social, economic, cultural or ethnic affinity, background or affiliation.
The economy is land and land is the economy. From this flows
the people’s aspiration to take full control and ownership of
both our land and our economy. Both our land and our economy
are ideological expressions of indigenisation to assert our
independence and our sovereignty over our natural and economic
resources. In other words, we must indigenise both our
land and our economy.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
And Zimbabwe has to import 40% of its food requirements, has 90% unemployment, over 3m people have become economic refugees, has 2,6m people in need of food aid that is supplied by the US and Britain, requires help funding its education department and its hospitals have collapsed. It is a wonderful success story.
Much more than 40%, I would say.
LOL, ouch my stomach is aching. What a great satirical Mr. Bean script.
No food, no water, no electricity, no medicine, no textbooks, no jobs, no free and fair voting, no money. Glory glory hallelujah indeed!!
I’m pretty sure you’re being sarcastic – but the land theft programme has not been a success – the country has imported maize for the past decade.
But of course. This is their manifesto who delighted EVERYONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Perhaps if the GOZ ceased railing against “the West” Chinamasa might get a better reception ?…..Duh ?……
Old saying goes that one should “never bite the hand that feeds”
Before debt forgiveness, how about coming up with all that diamond money, and all the missing aid funds… empty the accounts of all the ZANUPF bigwigs of all their ill-gotten gain, pay what is possible with that, THEN go and beg. The funds are there… why should you get more?
You loan me money… I squander and hide it… I find riches on my stand, but spend it all buying luxury items… and then I tell you I can not repay the loan. What you gonna do..?
Economy is the land..? Only if it is worth more to someone else than it is to you, and that person has something that is more valuable for you. In a certain world, where there is suddenly absolutely no food, a gold brick is worthless because it can not be eaten. How much would the land be worth in that world? It’s obvious education is greatly needed.
I remember reading sometime ago that the late general Mujuru had amassed wealth in the region of USD 10 billion and that is only him, one person. We could probably get another 50 billion out of all the others.That would put the country into a surplus position without borrowing from anybody.
ZanuZim needs to stop its pathetic sucking off the teat of the West and start feeding others.
I do not think that any western country would consider debt forgiveness until revenue is correctly paid into the consolidated revenue account rather than into the pockets of bigwigs. You cannot buy a bank on a Minister’s salary. Nhongo’s estate would wipe out the national debt.
Bossmyass appears to still have his party blinkers on!Why should someone else always subsidize his lifestyle.
Is that what you understood ?
Yep, the fool with the nom de plume ‘boss my ass’ is a serf indeed both intellectually and physically.
Too stupid or callous to put himself in the shoes of 90% of his black brothers he lives the high life, not on the back of white people but like a trus black ‘liberator’ he’s a parasite that sucks the lifeblood out of his own people.Yay……..enjoy your success (theft) while it lasts fool!
Morons like you, mugabe and gadaffi are so wrapped up in your stolen comforts and railing against the West/Whites that you’re blind to the fact that your own black brethren will be the ones yhat string you all up from the lampposts of harare…….ha ha ha and you’re so arrogant and brutal that you won’t even see it coming.
Viva murungu:-)
So I am the pretty smart ass rich macho man ? This is what you read?
I know how the government can get back into surplus. let’s confisticate all looted riches. If you can’t prove that you got your riches legitimately the government should confisticate. I bet the country will be in a surplus within twenty four hours.
Zimbabwe as a developing country is in a debt trap and the level of indebtedness defies logic given the arrogance displayed by the so called leadership.
Let it be known to all Members of the august house that debt cancellation does not imply non-payment at all. If the request is granted, it comes with conditionality implications that have to be adhered to for Zim to finally come out of the never ending debt burden. For Zim to qualify, the debt has to be adjudged as unsustainable and undergo another rigorous IMF condition enduring programme. For as long as we have insolvency problems, poor economic performance we will continue to have huge debt overhang.
The conditionality may involve Zim to produce a three yr (depending on the current IMF policy) interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan detailing the tangible measures and time-frame for poverty reduction interventions among other austerity IMF measures (this could just be part of the bigger picture)
The point is that, debt cancellation is not going to be given on a silver plate.It calls for further commitments that we have to adhere to which may not be palatable with the likes of Mugabe and his henchmen. And once such an attitude prevails and we fail to adhere and observe the conditionality, the level of indebtedness continue to haunt us. It is however an idea worth trying as long as we get financially disciplined and meet our commitments.
A number of countries to include Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia have gone through the same and it is my understanding some of these countries have seen their debts cancelled. Cancellation is in literal terms as we are obliged to repay our debt. All it means is making arrangements to own-up, whether they will be sustainable or not is something else. Tati vanoChinoz vangatonoita ma rally kumusha vachiti MDC yati chikwereti chenyika ngachikanzurwe pasina kana kubhadhara kana cent. kkkkkkkkkk.
Years of political and economic crisis have thrown many people in Zimbabwe into abject poverty. Today eight out of ten people in the country are unemployed. With this number only set to rise, people have few options.First and foremost Zimbabweans are the friendliest people you can ever find anywhere.Zimbabwe has the largest educated population in Africa.Anyone who wants to do business in Zimbabwe no matter how sophisticated, is assured of getting the requisite manpower.With all the above riches, it surprises me why Zimbabweans are not walking tall and working hard to safeguard their country’s riches.All the talk about ‘Third World’ ‘developing’ ‘poor’ and so on are what in South Africa they call ‘Tsotsi Taal’ – the language of the tsotsi – the criminal.All what is required is for us to join hands with the right investors and not ZANU-PF looters and together exploit the riches of our country and in the process uplift the living standards of our people.No more xenophobia, hostility, racism, isolation and selfishness.
Now do you understand Charlie Cochran – before jumping into the crocodile’s open jaws, read all the posts, ha! ha!
Transparency and accountability is all what is needed from Chinamasa and his cronies. IMF is not ZANU where things are done under the carpet to benefit just a few. I
That should read Massa-China or Master is China, not Cinamasa!
非凡中国
The west should force zanu to compensate the former farmers first – and then discuss a debt repayment scheme.
Forgiveness? Hah – has zanu been forgiving of anyone who doesn’t fit their agenda? No. Why should they be extended debt forgiveness?
Zviroto zviroto Chinamasa thou shall pay !
SO MUCH FOR THE FEW, SO NOTHING FOR THE AVERAGE PEOPLE.
Dont you all get it – BossMyAss is having you all on! He cracks me up by saying exactly what you all rail against and doesn’t mean a bit of it. Take the time to read ALL his crazy post, even though he does go on too long. He/maybe she, makes me smile as he/she gets your goat up.
Anyway back to debt forgiveness. You are right, that, fat, illegal “Vice” president (small p) Mujuru can pay off the National debt with her dead husbands loot. Why should the West forgive Mugarnage anything, after his tirades and insults, I’d charge Zimbabwe 25% interest annually if I were them! Forgive it when Mugarbage and ZANU-PF and Dis-grace are no more!
Agreed… but he/she/it is almost too good with the satire…
🙂
Incompetence and corruption were on glaring display. Yet Mr Mugabe’s rhetoric had persuaded many Zimbabweans that he was personally honest, lived on a modest salary and was uninterested in wealth. In August 2003, suspicions that he had in fact been enriching himself were confirmed when my story in The Daily Telegraph revealed that builders were putting the finishing touches to his new £6 million residence, the largest ever built in either Rhodesia or Zimbabwe. With 25 bedrooms, spas and a swimming pool, its roof clad with blue glazed tiles from Shanghai, it was as luxurious as any to be built in the post-colonial Africa of corrupt “big men” – and was three times the size of the president’s official residence. Its cost far exceeded his earnings since he came to power. In fact, Mr Mugabe had quietly taken control of four of Zimbabwe’s most profitable white-owned farms. They were secretly managed by state employees with all the profits going to him, his second wife, Grace, and their close relatives. Many believe that Mrs Mugabe’s shopping addiction has contributed to his increasingly greedy rule.
I suggest we rewind and go back to 1980, name the new Republic Zimdesia and elect Nkomo President with ZAPU as the ruling Party. I also suggest that every white Zimbabwean farmer be legislated to go into partnership with a qualified black Zimbabwean and together reap the benefits of Africa’s bread basket”. Compensation from the Lancaster Agreement would easily be enough to make this possible. I also suggest we encourage Western, not Eastern, investment and limit all Elected and non-Elected posts to a maximum of four years. Every Mine, Business and Industrial holding should be required to elect an equal number of qualified black Zimbabweans to their Boards and to their Executive Management force, as equal partners. Again, training financed by the Lancaster Agreement funding. I would guess that from 1980 until 2013, Zimbabwe would be the second Nation in Africa, after South Africa, to rise from “Developing” to “Developed”. Zimbabwe would be a partner of ICC, UN Security Council, BRICKSA (Brazil, Russia, India, China, Korea, South Africa).
The position I would have given Mugarbage would be that of Prime Minister, with only a one term, four year limit; as he did show some control those first OBE years, bar Gukaruhundi!
I nominate bossmyass to go to imf world Bank etc beg. China-masa was firmly censored that zim would getdebt relief when all zanu locked up in our new chikurubi