Zimbabwe's bank balance stands at $217
2013-01-29 22:01
Special Report
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has backed calls by regional grouping the SADC for his archrival President Robert Mugabe to delay crucial polls due by the end of July.
Harare - After paying public workers' salaries last week,
the balance in cash-strapped Zimbabwe's government public account stood at just
$217, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Tuesday.
"Last week when we paid civil servants there was
$217 [left] in government coffers," Biti told journalists in the capital
Harare, claiming some of them had healthier bank balances than the state.
"The government finances are in paralysis state at
the present moment. We are failing to meet our targets."
Zimbabwe's economy went into free-fall at the turn of the
millennium, after President Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms.
The move demolished investor confidence in the country,
paralysed production, prompted international sanctions and scared off tourists.
After more than a decade - in which the country suffered
hyper-inflation of 231 million percent and infrastructure that crumbled as
quickly as prices went up - the situation is now more stable.
But public finances remain a mess and local business
battles against unstable electricity supplies, lack of liquidity and high
labour costs.
Zimbabwe's government has warned it does not have enough
money to fund a constitutional referendum and elections expected this year.
Biti said that left no choice but to ask the donors for
cash.
"We will be approaching the international
community," he said.
The country's elections agency said it requires $104m to
organise the vote.
Government's national budget for this year stands at $3.8bn
and the economy is projected to grow 5%.
The mineral rich country is now using the US dollar and
the South African rand.
- SAPA
