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The truth behind the South African government loan to Zimbabwe
R Muvambi
August 17, 2005

You can contact Mr Muvambi at bhinyadanger@yahoo.com

While we Zimbabweans may desperately need the so called US$1 billion loan from S.A the South Africans need to be careful with their own president as they are still very green to the goings on in African politics and its leadership.

Firstly for Zimbabweans, all we know is we owe the IMF, World Bank, Europeans, Libyans, the US and lately the Chinese millions of dollars but we do not know exactly how much we owe them. All we know is what the government tells us. As for the South Africans, all they know is what their government tells them-if not what Mbeki tells them as well.

The IMF- maybe due to banking ethics would never or have never told us as citizens of Zimbabwe exactly how much we owe them either by way of public bank statement or by any other public means, hence we will never rely on whatever the government will state as being owed. In the same breath whatever we have repaid in loan repayment or in arrears payment for the period 2003 to 2005 is what Dr Gono told us. Again the IMF may never confirm the same figures back to us.

Herein lies the ruse. How many movies have we watched whereby a genuine bank robbery not only enriches the robbers but also the bank employees and the policemen? The bank officers may take advantage of the late arrival of the police to line their pockets. The police may also quickly help themselves to whatever loot the robbers dropped whilst on the run. The worst part is when there is connivance and stage management between any two of these people or amongst the whole lot.

It is not a secret that at the end of his second term in office Mbeki is not eligible for reelection unless of course he convinces the SA lawmakers to amend the SA constitution to allow him a third term which is very unlikely. Indeed one makes hay while the sun shines, Mbeki needs a good retirement package not what is offered under SA laws but what befits a former head of state by African standards. He (Mbeki) will therefore legitimately lay claim to SA funds, offloaded to the Zimbabwean leadership under the guise of a loan at the same time he may ask the same leadership to remit part of the loan to him as a kickback. They do not have to issue an open cheque to Mbeki but the funds may be routed to various offshore accounts where Mbeki may have some influence be it family, friends, trust, etc. Now that the Zimbabwean economy is in a crisis, the Zimbabwean leadership will for this reason or any other you may think of readily accept such an offer. One might add the Zimbabwean leadership actually drew up this proposal.

At the best one would say Mbeki finally asked the Zimbabwean government to sort out their economy, and may also have "quietly" and "diplomatically", asked the present leadership to retire to which he was told " yes we want to go but we are afraid of the sizeable drop on our incomes once we do so". So Mr. Mbeki offered the loan with which Zimbabwean leadership will utilize in part to pay the outstanding loans and augment their life long pensions. The worst scenario is where no outstanding loan is repaid and all the money ends up in the pockets of the Zimbabwean leadership and their cronies.

Finally people should be reminded that when Zimbabwe experienced civil strife during our war of independence the majority of Zimbabwean refugees did not flock to SA as but to Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. The long survival of the Rhodesian economy despite the sanctions during the same war was due to the oiling the Rhodesian regime got from the apartheid SA.

That the SA borders are not readily passable from Zimbabwe could be a valid reason until you consider the Zambian border- then you will know that SA borders were heavily protected then just as they are now and therefore refugees will still be kept at bay.

We now all can see that Mbeki assertion that the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy will be heavy on his side is just but a fallacy unless he is obliged to save Zimbabwe just like his apartheid predecessors.

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