South Africa silence on loan

By Tererai Karimakwenda
26 August, 2005

Very little information has been released to the press about the loan that South Africa is considering to bailout Zimbabwe from IMF expulsion and total economic collapse. Even now, no-one is sure exactly who initiated the deal, just how much money is being considered, and what conditions, if any, will be placed on the government in Harare. It was only on Thursday that the press got confirmation that a deal is indeed being discussed and that was during a press conference at the reserve bank of South Africa's annual general meeting.

South Africa's Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni told reporters at the press event that there was a media frenzy about the Zimbabwe loan. But when pressed for more details, Mboweni became irritated and refused to answer any more questions about Zimbabwe. Thami Dickson, political correspondent for SABC, was at the Mboweni press briefing. He says the reserve bank governor confirmed that discussions are going on, and that the amount is less than reported. He also confirmed there is talk about economic policies that Zimbabwe would need to follow.

Dickson says reporters in South Africa are not getting enough information and most reports, especially print, are quite speculative.