HARARE, 24 March 2009 (IRIN) – A cold reality is dawning on Zimbabwe’s inclusive government that those able to give money for the country’s reconstruction will not give it, and those wanting to give money just do not have it.
After a political deal brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Morgan Tsvangirai was inaugurated as prime minister on 11 February 2009, while President Robert Mugabe maintained the post he had held since independence from Britain in 1980.
SADC heralded the deal as a new beginning for the once prosperous state, but the country’s main donors – the US and the European Union (EU) – have adopted a wait-and-see approach before releasing any funds for economic reconstruction.
Since 11 February, US President Barack Obama’s administration has publicly refused to lift targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his ZANU-PF elite, a position also held by the EU.
In a 2008 report the UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that about 5 billion US dollar would be required to kick-start the economy and rescue the country from its financial morass.
Economic recovery is predicated on a substantial rescue package, but Mugabe’s grip on the reins of power has deterred Western governments, and the onus has fallen on SADC to come up with some form of financial assistance.
SADC has pledged 2 billion US dollar for Zimbabwe’s reconstruction, but a question mark hangs over where it will find the money. The organization will meet on 30 March to make a final decision on the package.
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