A DELEGATION from the European Investment Bank (EIB) is expected to arrive in Harare today for a three-day visit which will culminate in the sealing of deals with private sector players in the country, a spokesperson has said.
VICTORIA MTOMBA BUSINESS REPORTER
The team, led by Diederick Zambon — who is responsible for EIB lending in Southern Africa— is scheduled to meet Finance and Economic Development minister Patrick Chinamasa and executives from the private sector.
EIB is the European Union’s long-term lending institution.
The bank’s spokesman for Africa Richard Willis said restrictions on European Union engagement in Zimbabwe continue to be suspended following decisions made by the bloc’s ministers this year.
“Following this decision, the European Investment Bank is evaluating possible financial engagement to support private sector investment in Zimbabwe and during this visit the EIB delegation will meet with government officials, EU Ambassadors and private sector representatives,” Willis said.
The EU head of delegation to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’Ariccia confirmed the visit to NewsDay recently.
Dell’ Ariccia said Zimbabwe’s arrears to the EU were about $272 million and was the major issue that was making it difficult for the country to attract EU funding.
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According to the Finance Ministry, Zimbabwe owes EIB $302 million.
Dell’Ariccia said the EU has been working with the private sector and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe, Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe and other sectors in the economy.
He said through various cooperation and development initiatives €1,3 billion (about $1,7 billion) has been channelled to Zimbabwe through the EU and its member states since 2009.
Zimbabwe has a huge debt overhang estimated at over $6,1 billion owed to the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), EIB and other financiers.
That debt overhang came at a time sanctions against the country were militating against Zimbabwe’s access to cheap financing.
However, the private sector has managed to get lines of credit from lenders after providing bankable projects.
The coming in of EIB executives would be a relief for local companies that have been struggling to access long-term loans with institutions offering financing on expensive short-term basis.
EIB is headquartered in Luxembourg and funds its operations by borrowing on the capital markets rather than drawing on the EU budget. It is owned by the 28 member states of the EU.
