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IMF
demands reforms from Harare
ZimOnline
April 21, 2006
http://www.zimonline.co.za/headdetail.asp?ID=11992
HARARE - The
head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Rodrigo Rato said
yesterday President Robert Mugabe's government needed to change
its economic course and the way it is governing the southern Africa
nation.
The IMF has
been critical of Harare's policies and has stopped lending to the
country over controversial policies such as the seizures of land
from white commercial farmers, which critics say has led to a plunge
in agriculture and food shortages.
Rato, who was
addressing
journalists in Washington said the multilateral lender was still
concerned over Zimbabwe's future.
"We are
really engaged in the future of Zimbabwe and we have been advising
the authorities of Zimbabwe to change their course, both in macroeconomic
terms and also in the respect of plurality and human rights and
governance," Rato told a press conference.
Rato said Zimbabwe
was for a long period in arrears on loan repayments to the Fund
and that is why its voting rights at the Fund had been suspended.
Harare last
month accused the IMF of being hijacked by Washington and London
to continue suspending its voting rights despite having cleared
a critical account that had seen the country being faced with expulsion.
"Those
arrears have been cleared but also there are issues right now regarding
the consistency of data and we are working on that," Rato said.
Zimbabwe is
in the throes of its worst economic crisis that has been worsened
by the withdrawal of international support mainly over Harare's
controversial policies.
The meltdown
has shown in chronic shortages of food, foreign exchange and fuel,
surging unemployment and the world's highest rate of inflation at
913.6 percent.
The government
this week launched a drive to revive the economy and expects inflows
of US$2.5 billion "either in cash or in the form of investments"
within the next 90 days.
But analysts
have been sceptical about Zimbabwe's prospects and say the economy,
which has contracted by 40 percent in the last eight years, is likely
to shrink further in 2006.
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