Business Day
By Dumisani Muleya
25 February 2009
SOUTHERN African Development Community (SADC) finance ministers, including SA’s Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, will meet in Cape Town today to discuss Zimbabwe’s economic recovery plan amid news the country needs $1bn to pay vital obligations.
The summit, which comes a day ahead of the SADC council of ministers conference — also to be held in Cape Town tomorrow — is critical as it could inspire or undermine confidence in Zimbabwe’s new unity government.
Western countries and donors have said that they would wait to see if the new government was serious about tackling the country’ s economic malaise before providing aid. Some are sceptical the arrangement can work while President Robert Mugabe remains at the helm.
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said the country needs at least $5bn to ensure recovery. Economic experts, however, suggest $10bn is needed for reconstruction.
Zimbabwe’s economy collapsed under Mugabe’s leadership, and policy failures have reduced the country to a failed state.
The economy, its agricultural base destroyed by violent land seizures, has experienced 10 years of negative growth. Its inflation rate is the world’s highest . Compounding efforts to rebuild the country, its infrastructure — roads, airports, railway networks, schools, hospitals and clinics, waterworks, power stations and bridges — is collapsing.
Official documents show that Zimbabwe needs more than $1bn to cover essential imports and overdue debts. Payments outstanding include bills for food, fuel, electricity, as well as debt to Equatorial Guinea for oil and financial aid.
Education Minister David Coltart said yesterday $438m was needed to stabilise the education sector.
“The ideal amount of money we need is $438m, and that is just for the first six months.
“Now in the current economic climate — and in the context of world recession — that is a completely unattainable figure. So we have to cut it. We are hoping to raise $80m.”
Coltart held marathon meetings with teachers’ union representatives in a bid to persuade teachers to end their strike and return to work by next month. Teachers, who were paid R1000 last week, have been on strike since last year.
Zimbabwe used to have the highest literacy rate in Africa, but literacy has plummeted throughout the drawn-out political and economic crisis.
Besides the SADC finance ministers’ summit and the SADC council of ministers conference, there is another crucial meeting today in which Zimbabwe will feature prominently. That meeting is between SA’s President Kgalema Motlanthe and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who arrived in SA yesterday.
Motlanthe and Ban are expected to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe among other issues. They will also discuss the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Madagascar and the Middle East situation.
Other issues on their agenda include the Durban Review Conference on Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance , the global crisis, climate change and the reform of the UN .
The UN on Monday pledged to help Zimbabwe tackle its critical humanitarian crisis . The country faces chronic food shortages and a cholera epidemic.
The World Health Organisation last week said that 3759 people who had contracted the disease had died.
A total of 80250 cases had so far been reported.
A visiting UN team promised to deal with the humanitarian situation gripping the country after meeting Mugabe on Monday.
UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief co-ordinator Catherine Bragg said the world body would step up efforts to help Zimbabwe.
“We are focusing on cholera and any form of humanitarian assistance the UN can offer,” she said.
Bragg visited cholera treatment facilities to assess the situation.
She also met the ministers of labour, education, health, agriculture and foreign affairs.