US$15bn for Zim recovery programme

Lizwe Sebatha

BULAWAYO – Zimbabwe requires more than US$15 billion to finance its latest economic recovery programme, a figure nearly double the US$8 billion Harare failed to raise for a short term recovery programme announced weeks after the administration came into office.

Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma said US$15.8 billion five-year Medium Term Plan (MTP) would be launched next January to the replace the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP) that was launched in March and expires in December.

“As the government, we are presently setting policies that will promote investment by the private sector to ensure financing of this programme. One of the policies is to ensure that public-private sector partnerships play a crucial role in the implementation of the MTP,” Mangoma told ZimOnline.

But Mangoma did not say how exactly the government would raise funds for its latest recovery programme especially after problems it encountered trying to mobilise donor and investor support for the STERP.

The STERP was expected to stabilise the economy and lay the basis of a mid-to-long term recovery programme. While the economy has stabilized, the STERP has largely fizzled out after key Western donor governments and multilateral institutional declined to bankroll the programme demanding more political reforms.

Zimbabwe’s coalition government – that President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to form only because of pressure from southern African leaders – is seen as offering the country its best opportunity in years to turn around its economy after a decade of severe recession.

But analysts remain skeptical about the government’s long-term effectiveness, citing unending squabbles between Mugabe’s ZANU PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC parties and refusal by rich Western countries to provide financial support. – ZimOnline