IMF in Zimbabwe

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

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3. Zimbabwe: IMF wants written undertaking 

The Zimbabwe Independent, 27 February 1998 

Harare - The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is understood to be
insisting upon a written undertaking from President Mugabe that the emotive
land issue be handled in a transparent way and in accordance with the law,
meets mid-next month to decide on the fate of the country whose economy is
currently mired in recession and heavily dependent upon external
balance-of-payments support. 

In the run-up to the meeting it is hoped that the tough-talking Mugabe, who
has been adamant that the compulsory land seizure would go ahead despite
growing international opposition, might change his stance on the land
question because of the blight it is inflicting on investor confidence and
relations with donors. 

Observers said the time had come for the government, which has been sending
mixed signals to the international community, to be clear on the land
question because clarity on key issues such as this was considered important
by foreign investors. 

"No specific date has been set yet but we will go to the executive board
meeting in the second half of March," said an official of the fund in
Washington yesterday. "The executive board will make the decision on
Zimbabwe on the basis of the report currently being prepared by the team
which visited the country early this year." 

Well-placed sources however said the meeting, considered crucial for
Zimbabwe which needs to bolster its foreign exchange reserves to stabilise
its exchange regime, was slated for March 20. 

Although the official would not provide details on what the fund's
conditionalities were for the resumption of balance-of-payments support for
Zimbabwe, diplomatic sources in Harare said the IMF, whose patience with the
government is fast running out, had demanded that the president give
assurances that the land question be handled in accordance with the law and
in a way that does not disrupt productivity or jeopardise fiscal targets. 

This means in effect that the issue of compensation should be fully addressed. 

President Mugabe, who observers suggest has been returning to the sensitive
land issue to bolster his flagging political standing, had previously
maintained that the farmers, mostly white, would be compensated only for the
improvements on the farms. This was after Britain, the former colonial
power, stated categorically that it would not financially support Zimbabwe's
land acquisition programme in its current form because it was unlikely to
lead to poverty alleviation which the British government had prioritised. 

"It is the IMF's long-standing position that on such issues as the land
question, there should be transparency, while compensation should also be
addressed," the IMF official said. 

[snip]

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