Referendum: Zim turns to local firms
2013-02-19 09:11
Special Report
Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF party is mulling over a special congress at which top vacant positions will be filled and the succession of President Robert Mugabe would be decided, according to a report.
Harare - Destitute Zimbabwe plans to borrow from local
companies to raise $100m needed to hold a referendum on a new constitution,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Monday.
The southern African country will vote in March on whether to
adopt a new charter approved by parliament that seeks to curb sweeping
presidential powers while strengthening state institutions such as the cabinet,
parliament and judiciary.
Rivals Tsvangirai and veteran President Robert Mugabe formed
a power-sharing government after a disputed 2008 election and agreed to hold
fresh polls only after adopting a new constitution.
Tsvangirai and one of his deputies in government, Arthur
Mutambara, said the government wanted to borrow from firms, including mines and
banks, as well as issuing Treasury bills.
"We have put in place a mechanism to raise funds for
the referendum," Tsvangirai told reporters at a press conference.
Mutambara added: "We are saying to the private sector:
'This is your country, political stability is in your best interest.'"
Harare has a history of defaulting on its debt and has seen
its external debt rise to more than $10bn.
Zimbabwe's economy shrunk by as much as 40% between 2000 and
2008 - according to official figures - a decline blamed on Mugabe's policies
such as the seizure of white-owned farms.
Most foreign donors have withheld money, pressing for
political and economic reforms.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has already approached the
United Nations to help raise money for general elections, which by law are due
when the current presidential and parliamentary terms expire at the end of
June.
Tsvangirai said the United Nations had a team in the country
to discuss the request.
- Reuters
