Govt resuscitating SADC Lines of Credit

Govt resuscitating SADC Lines of Credit
Published: 10 April 2014
The Government has begun the process of resuscitating a number of lines of credit with countries in SADC. Zimbabwe's industry is currently struggling to operate at maximum capacities due to capital constraints, high cost of borrowing and unavailability of long-term financing.

Deputy Minister of Finance Samuel Undenge yesterday said told a Buy Zimbabwe conference that his Ministry was making "frantic efforts" to access funding for re-tooling industry.

"The Ministry is making frantic efforts to mobilise resources locally and externally, through pursuing pledged lines of credit under SADC initiated facilities.

"These include, among others, the Botswana Line of Credit worth $70 million, the Angola Line of Credit worth $50 million, and the South African government Line of credit, whose quantum would be subject to bilateral negotiations," said deputy minister Undenge.

Some of the Lines of Credit were negotiated as early as 2010, but nothing had come out of them to date.

The regional Lines of Credit were in line with the decision of the Extraordinary Summit of March 2009 held in Swaziland to urge SADC member states to support Zimbabwe's economic recovery.

Deputy Minister Undenge also said that the country was also currently in talks with the BRICS countries to get both financial and development assistance.

"We are also engaged in bi-lateral discussions with countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China to that we can some financial and economic co-operation, if you may be aware some projects are financed within the budget and other are financed off-budget whether we bring in our foreign development partners to assist in infrastructural development projects," he said.

Zimbabwe’s economy - which has grown by an annual average of seven percent between in 2009 and 2012 - is on the wane due to clogged external credit lines, high financial and below par utility services.
- BH24
Tags: SADC,

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