Opposition should issue out threat against further lending to Zim Govt
By Zivai Mhetu
In the wake of leaked plans to bail-out the Zimbabwean government by multi-lateral financial institutions which have since been abandoned, a point has to be put across to all creditors that lending money to the Zimbabwean government does not translate to assisting the people of Zimbabwe.
In as far as loans and their resultant debts are concerned a clear distinction has to be made between legitimate debt (which benefits a country’s peoples) and odious debt (which does not): a lot of the money that has been lent to our government has not benefited the general populace.
For instance, around $30 million of the debt owed to the UK originates from loans to the Zimbabwean police to buy British made Land Rovers. In a country where the police are used time and time again to quash dissent a loan to buy them vehicles can never be viewed as a benefit to the general populace; it can only be viewed as a threat to their physical well being.
Given this background, opposition forces, which may or may not form the next government of Zimbabwe, must not remain quiet when the Zanu-PF government attempts to borrow more money.
As the government in waiting, the opposition should be at the fore-front of trying to stop the government of Zimbabwe from accessing loans given its track record of corruption. After all, the opposition will more than likely have to pay back loans accrued under Zanu-PF rule if, or should I say when, it eventually replaces that party in government.
The opposition – preferably in a joint statement encompassing all parties – should warn multi lateral financial institutions and any other creditors against giving money to the Zanu-PF led government on the basis that it is corrupt.
After issuing out such a warning, when it gets in power and forms the next government, the opposition will be justified in refusing to pay any odious debt accrued after it specifically warned lenders from dealing with the Zanu-PF led government because of its lack of transparency.
The opposition should not remain reticent while the Zanu-PF led government sends its emissaries to extend the begging bowl to various entities.
What it should be doing in fact, is to follow the Zanu-PF led government wherever it goes to warn its would be lenders that when Zanu-PF exits power they won’t get a single cent of their money from the newly democratically elected government.
While aid forms a huge chunk of some of the national budgets of other countries in the region, in Zimbabwe it does not because those who give it grew wary of trusting the Zimbabwean government a long time ago.
The question then becomes: if no one trusts the Zanu-PF led government enough to give it aid to help its own people why should anyone give it loans which unlike aid, actually have to be paid back?
Only those who solely care about making a profit from high interest rates will give a government like ours money even when they clearly know that their loans are not going to be used to address the plight of the people on whose behalf such loans are borrowed.
Such entities, be they multilateral financial institutions or bilateral lenders, have to be punished. When a new government comes to power, such entities should not be able to recover a single cent of the money they would have given to a corrupt system.
Put more simply, the opposition should tell all those who wish to (or are even entertaining the thought of) lending money to the Zanu-PF led government – which is clearly on its last legs – that if they give it money, when a new government comes to power, they will not be getting back a single dime.
Zivai Mhetu
(University of Zimbabwe SRC Vice-President)
