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"SOUTH Africa has offered a US$50 million credit facility to Zimbabwe, as regional governments move to assist the unity government."
SOUTH Africa has offered a US$50 million credit facility to Zimbabwe, as regional governments move to assist the unity government.
The loan facility that officials said should be officially announced in due course is targeted to help strengthen key industries such as the motor industry, manufacturers of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs.
A US$70 million credit facility advanced to Zimbabwe by Botswana last week will also go into assisting key industries such as steel, leather, agro and pharmaceutical industries that have either closed down or are operating way below capacity due to an acute shortage of foreign currency to import raw materials, machinery and spares.
"We have been offered a R500 million credit facility (US$50 million) by South Africa as part of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) economic rescue deal package," a top Harare government official told ZimOnline at the weekend.
The Harare official said the loan facility should be formally made public by the South African government "probably after their elections or before". South Africa chooses a new government on April 22.
Contacted for comment, Zimbabwe Industry Minister Welshman Ncube confirmed Harare and Pretoria were discussing the loan facility but would not divulge exact details of how it would work or say whether the two governments had already reached agreement on the matter.
Ncube said: "Officials from my ministry and the Ministry of Finance spent the whole of last week trying to finalise how that loan would work. We are working with our counterparts from South Africa.
"The loan would benefit areas listed in the STERP (Zimbabwe's economic recovery programme) blue print such as sugar, fertilizer, beverages, tyres and motor industries.
"It's not just the loan from South Africa, there is also the Botswana facility, then the rest of SADC and other loan facilities from COMESA framework which will eventually come."--zimonline
The loan facility that officials said should be officially announced in due course is targeted to help strengthen key industries such as the motor industry, manufacturers of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs.
A US$70 million credit facility advanced to Zimbabwe by Botswana last week will also go into assisting key industries such as steel, leather, agro and pharmaceutical industries that have either closed down or are operating way below capacity due to an acute shortage of foreign currency to import raw materials, machinery and spares.
"We have been offered a R500 million credit facility (US$50 million) by South Africa as part of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) economic rescue deal package," a top Harare government official told ZimOnline at the weekend.
The Harare official said the loan facility should be formally made public by the South African government "probably after their elections or before". South Africa chooses a new government on April 22.
Contacted for comment, Zimbabwe Industry Minister Welshman Ncube confirmed Harare and Pretoria were discussing the loan facility but would not divulge exact details of how it would work or say whether the two governments had already reached agreement on the matter.
Ncube said: "Officials from my ministry and the Ministry of Finance spent the whole of last week trying to finalise how that loan would work. We are working with our counterparts from South Africa.
"The loan would benefit areas listed in the STERP (Zimbabwe's economic recovery programme) blue print such as sugar, fertilizer, beverages, tyres and motor industries.
"It's not just the loan from South Africa, there is also the Botswana facility, then the rest of SADC and other loan facilities from COMESA framework which will eventually come."--zimonline
