This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
121355Z Jun 03
UNCLAS HARARE 001209
SIPDIS
FOR AF/PDPA DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS AND AF/S RAYNOR
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON KPAO KMDR ZI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT IMF AND ZIMBABWE; HARARE
1. Under headline "Embrace the devil" the independent
weekly "The Financial Gazette" dedicated its June 12
editorial to encouraging the government of Zimbabwe
"to seek rapprochement and mend fences" with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) "for the good of
the nation." The call comes hard on the heels of
the suspension of Zimbabwe's voting rights in the
IMF. Excerpts follow:
2. ". . .A wide cross-section of Zimbabweans greeted news
of the suspension of the country's voting rights with
collective trepidation because they know only too well what
this means and its implications - Zimbabwe's credit rating.
. .has been reduced to junk status, a red flag which will
not escape the attention of the international financier
community. With the IMF funding on ice, Zimbabwe is now in
a very deep hole because no matter how far the country
passes the hat, no international financier will twitch.
The decision by the IMF to suspend Zimbabwe will now set
the stage for the stiffening of the hands of the other
international institutions that have been sitting on the
sidelines waiting to take the cue on Zimbabwe from the IMF.
What the IMF has done will only help to convince the world
that Zimbabwe has its needle well and truly stuck, so to
speak. . .To these financiers the IMF's move on Zimbabwe is
a wake-up call: they will not touch Zimbabwe even with a
barge pole. . .Be that as it may, with the economy having
collapsed into a recessionary heap we do not have much of a
choice. . .We feel that we have no option but to
seek rapprochement and mend fences with the IMF.
Whether we like it or not we have to bite the bullet
and knuckle down to the IMF demands for the good of
the nation. Given our predicament, the IMF is a
necessary evil that, if it comes back to Zimbabwe,
could trigger a massive inflow of external funds
into the country and help us stabilize our
finances. . . ."
SULLIVAN