Posted on 07/18/2005 8:02:34 PM PDT by blam
Mugabe in plea for S Africa to bail him out of crisis
By David Blair in Johannesburg
(Filed: 19/07/2005)
President Robert Mugabe's destruction of Zimbabwe's economy began to strike home yesterday after he had to ask South Africa for a rescue package.
Unable to arrest the spiralling crisis or buy essential supplies of fuel, Zimbabwe has turned to its powerful neighbour.
‘Embarrassing’: Robert Mugabe has finally acknowledged the gravity of Zimbabwe's situation
Senior officials have visited South Africa to request an emergency injection of money likely to run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
About one third of Zimbabwe's economy has been wiped out in the past five years, putting it among the fastest shrinking in the world. Inflation runs at 164 per cent, the highest in Africa.
Mr Mugabe's seizure of white-owned farms, the destruction of commercial agriculture and the collapse of tourism mean his regime is incapable of paying its way.
Until recently, his response to this crisis was repeatedly to claim that Zimbabwe was enjoying a "strong recovery". Yet he has finally acknowledged the gravity of the situation by dispatching his key aides to South Africa.
A spokesman for South Africa's central bank said that Tito Mboweni, its governor, met a Zimbabwean delegation last Friday. Sources in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, said this was led by Gideon Gono, the governor of the Zimbabwean Reserve Bank.
If agreed, the rescue package would place a considerable burden on South Africa.
John Robertson, an independent economist in Harare, said Zimbabwe needed about £60 million for fuel and £110 million for importing maize to fend off starvation.
Zimbabwe owes the International Monetary Fund £175 million - more than seven per cent of its entire economy. The next meeting of the IMF executive board will discuss whether to cast Mr Mugabe into isolation by formally expelling Zimbabwe.
Since electricity and raw materials also have to be imported, an overall sum approaching £500 million may be required. Unable to turn to any international organisation, Mr Mugabe has no option but to approach South Africa.
"The government find it too embarrassing and too difficult to try to make things work in the absence of outside help," said Mr Robertson.
"The scarcity of fuel means the country is nearly immobile. You can park anywhere in town these days because there are so few cars about."
Mr Mugabe's demolition of township areas has worsened the economic crisis.
With hundreds of thousands left homeless, his regime has pledged to build new houses to replace those its bulldozers have destroyed. But there are no funds available.
The Reserve Bank will have no option but to print money to cover the cost of new housing. By turning to the printing press to fund his budget deficit, Mr Mugabe will cause inflation to rise still more.
The IMF forecast exactly this situation when a team visited Zimbabwe last month.
"The budget deficit will increase markedly in 2005," it said. This would "fuel a sharp increase in the money supply, and hence inflation".
The IMF also criticised the township demolitions, saying they would "worsen shortages, contribute to lower growth, and aggravate inflationary pressures".
By December, Zimbabwe's inflation rate is likely to exceed 200 per cent and the economy will have been in deep recession for the fifth consecutive year.
South African President Thabo Mbeki's reputation has suffered because of his failure to criticise Mr Mugabe's excesses. If he now bails out Zimbabwe's regime and helps to keep the Zanu-PF party in power, Mr Mbeki's standing may fall again.
A United Nations report is due this week on the township demolitions. A critical verdict would make it harder for Mr Mbeki to help.
Yet if Zimbabwe slips further into collapse, the consequences for South Africa would be severe.
Mr Robertson said: "They could be upset by the outflow of refugees and the political difficulty of having a poverty-stricken neighbour becoming more chaotic by the day."
He said strict conditions should be attached to any bail-out. "It's easy for Robert Mugabe to make promises and very difficult for Thabo Mbeki to enforce them."
Drop dead Mugabe....commie scum.
Ping.
that feller's got some really clintonesque fingers
A good way to help his country would be to resign.
I can never understand communists begging capitalist countries for aid. Castro does it all the time. I mean, doesn't that just negate everything these Marxists stand for?
If South Africa offers him anything they should be sujected to an international boycott. I doubt that would happen since the "third world" countries and Europe seem fascinated by these despots.
It wasn't that long ago that the libs were rejoicing in the take over of the White owned farms. Mugabe was there man.
And here he thought killing off all those white farmers would turn things around.... Funny how these things don't go as planned.
Maybe Bono and his G8 buddies can put together another "party for Africa" dance. Just a thought.
Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com
These ar a different kind of folks as are the Arabs. Best we have not become so civilized each problem can not be corrected. If we have... our standards... our way of life... and everything that makes a damn to us is lost.
For the most racist of reasons, blacks kept quiet when it was only whites who the regime was evicting from their land. At best blacks supported Mugabe and at worst, remained silent. Either way, they made this bed, now let em starve for all I care.
France shares part of the blame for Mugabe as well, fete'ing him at the Elysee Palace and encouraging his madness.
Let france rebuild that new **ithole! NOT THE US!
LET THEM STARVE!
Ditto------He's ruined what used to be a beautiful country.
He better not us for any.
Send him a revolver with one bullet and the people a short piece of rope.
Send him a revolver with one bullet and the people a short piece of rope.
Wasn't it just last week Bush was off promising MILLIONS (or was it Billions?) of our hard earned bucks for these savages? He gives our money away like it was Monolpoly money. Isn't Congress supposed to vote on this FIRST? I hope they all vote NO!
What's scarier for your, er, our wallets, is that Namibia is impressed with the "land reforms", and Mbeki too,
is considering similar "reforms".
And of course, the SCOTUS did a number on the value of private property...
And the SCOTUS now takes other countries laws and customs into consideration in their rulings.
Maybe they will decide to remove a "few" white farmers here in America.
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