FINANCE minister Tendai Biti is expected soon to conclude talks with his South African counterpart Pravin Gordhan over the $100 million budgetary support that the country is sourcing from the regional economic powerhouse.
Report by Victoria Mtomba
Biti returns to Zimbabwe today after attending weeklong International Monetary Fund spring meetings in Washington. The Finance minister recently said he would meet his South African counterpart on the sidelines of the annual meeting following a resolution by the South Africa’s cabinet to extend budgetary support to the government.
“I will be seeing Pravin Gordhan in Washington in the next few days. This is one of the issues that is topical . . . It’s very critical that South Africa understands Zimbabwe because to SA, Zimbabwe is not a foreign policy issue,” said Biti before he left for Washington.
“If there is an unsustainable election in Zimbabwe, if there is an economic meltdown in Zimbabwe, one country that will feel it and feel it immediately it’s South Africa. In 2008, 5 000 illegal Zimbabweans were crossing Zimbabwe daily and by 2008 South Africa constructed a $20 million holding camp for Zimbabwean, refugees in Limpopo province. I really appeal to the SA government.”
This comes at a time when government is reportedly pursuing other avenues to ease capital constraints on the market.
According to a source from the Ministry of Finance, the country was also pursuing close to R2 billion from South Africa for co-operation between the two governments.
The source said government was engaging South Africa in a bid to resume a pre-Independence loan facility.
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“The country received R300 million and was accounted for in 2008 and we are pursuing it again. We also received R300 million and we accounted for it by end of October 2009 and this was for health and welfare,” the source said.
The source said government was working on the revival of some of the funds.
“We are working on the renewal of the R2,5 billion as an Export Credit Co-operation Facility. Another R1 billion will be for budget support.”
The source revealed that the country was also pursuing funds for infrastructure support through the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
