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| Africa Subsaharan |
| IMF sets conditions in a blow to Zim aid efforts |
| 2009-03-26 |
| The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday it will only provide aid to Zimbabwe once the unity government meets key conditions, dealing a blow to efforts to secure billions of dollars in aid to revive the economy. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who took office last month in a unity government with long-time President Robert Mugabe, has made a priority of trying to restore ties with international lenders. The IMF sent a mission to Zimbabwe just one month after Tsvangirai took office, and members of his party had hoped that a new economic revival plan would convince the IMF to resume its lending. But after its two-week mission, the IMF laid out a series of conditions for Zimbabwe to again receive financial and technical assistance, saying Harare must establish a track record of solid policies, win donor support and a resolve outstanding debts, including its arrears to the Fund. "IMF staff stand ready to continue to assist the authorities through policy advice," it said in a statement. Neighbouring countries have also called on the IMF to restore Zimbabwe to its good books, as Southern African leaders prepare to meet on Monday to discuss how to deliver economic aid to the country. The IMF mission was the first to Zimbabwe since 2006, when Mugabe's government narrowly averted expulsion from the body over some 125 million dollars in arrears. The IMF has long criticised Mugabe's economic policies but had praise for the efforts of the new unity government. The decision to allow Zimbabweans to conduct their daily business in foreign currency had already helped stop hyperinflation and strengthened the credibility of the government's reform programme, it said. |
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| #1 How about emptying Mugabe's accounts first? Then charge him and the rest of the Zanu-PF Nazis with genocide and ethnic cleansing. Never happen. |
| Posted by: rhodesiafever 2009-03-26 10:16 |