KGALEMA MOTLANTHE . . . called a meeting to help mobilise assistance for Zimbabwe

JOHHANESBURG – South African governments are looking to raise US$2 billion to finance Zimbabwe’s recovery, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told the media on Thursday.

The figure is much less than the US$5 billion that Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said last week was required to fix his country, in acute recession for the last decade and without adequate food, essential medicines or hard cash.

Manuel, whose country is the richest in Africa and is expected to provide the bulk of funds for Zimbabwe, said the money was divided into a billion to economic activity and another to restore basic services such as health and education.

"I was present when Prime Minister Tsvangirai gave the number (US$5 billion), but it was just a number given. There's a document that actually splits the immediate costs over the next 10 months into two amounts of about a billion dollars each,” Manuel told SABC radio in an interview on a meeting of SADC finance ministers this week.

“This included a $1-billion loan to re-stimulate retail and all kinds of things . . . that's one billion we are exploring. The other about a billion dollars for emergencies in education, health, municipal services and some infrastructure." he added

The meeting to discuss possible aid for Zimbabwe is taking place in Cape Town and is expected to end on Saturday. It was not immediately clear how much each of Zimbabwe’s neighbours had pledged to contribute and or how the money will be disbursed to Harare.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe called the meeting after Tsvangirai appealed to him as chairman of SADC to help mobilise assistance for Zimbabwe.

Once a model African economy, Zimbabwe is in the grip of an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis marked by the world’s highest inflation of 231 million percent as of last July, acute shortages of essential commodities and deepening poverty, amid a cholera epidemic that has infected more than 80 000 people and killed nearly 4 000 others.

A unity government formed by Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe more than a week ago has raised hopes Zimbabwe could finally end years of decline to regain its former status as a regional breadbasket.

But skepticism remains high whether the unity government that under a September power-sharing agreement should last for about two years will be able to survive the deep-seated acrimony between the tow political rivals. – ZimOnline