MDC officials meet IMF team to Zimbabwe

By Lance Guma
26 January 2006

Officials from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) met a delegation of the International Monetary Fund in Harare on Thursday. The IMF team, led by Sharmini Coorey is in the country on a fact-finding mission that will look at Zimbabwe’s economic performance and irregular payments of arrears. Secretary for Economic Affairs in the MDC Tendai Biti led a team, which included economist Daniel Ndlela, and several members of the party’s National Executive.

Biti says the purpose of the meeting was mainly consultative and that the IMF regularly speak to them on matters relating to the Zimbabwean economy. ‘The IMF want to hear what alternative strategies we have, should we come to power’, Biti said. He criticised the government for having created a horrible economic mess and that the country should never have been put in a situation where it has to rely on Balance of Payment support from international lenders.

He said even though Zanu PF hated the IMF on an ideological basis they still needed their help to try and come out of the current mess. Zimbabwe has paid a total US$25 million to the IMF since October last year to reduce its arrears and is hoping this will save it from expulsion when the IMF board meets in March to decide the country's future. Biti believes Zimbabwe should be able to export more than it imports so as to create a healthy balance of payment account. African countries needed to move away from relying on the West and instead push for greater domestic investment in their economies.

The MDC’s blueprint for resuscitating the economy dubbed ‘RESTART’ was a well worked out plan, which even the IMF had accepted as workable. Commenting on allegations that the government has been illegally raiding corporate foreign currency accounts to pay up arrears with the IMF, Biti said they had received similar reports. He says they have reliable information that a senior Zanu PF official loaned the government foreign currency to pay up the IMF arrears.

Zimbabwe paid an extra US$15 million towards its debt this week sparking speculation on the source of the funds. Biti says this is money previously looted from the same government. He likened events in Zimbabwe to those previously occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Mobutu is reputed to have held more money than his own country at the height of his powers.