Zimbabwe's finance minister appealed Monday to the African Development Bank to ease the terms on the $566 million it is late in repaying. "I have appealed to the bank (AfDB) to help us clear the arrears," Patrick Chinamasa said after meeting bank executives, who are on a six-day visit to the southern African nation to assess the impact of the bank's projects in the country.
Zimbabwe's economy entered a tailspin after the launch of controversial land reforms 15 years ago and it has amassed around $10 billion domestic and foreign debt over the years. Token payments are being made, but they have not been enough to clear the millions owed in arrears to various institutions, including AfDB and the European Development Bank. "We are trying to find a way forward," said Chinamasa. "We need to access concessional borrowing." Chinamasa called on AfDB to support the country's private sector, which is battling to secure credit lines to rebuild an economy in the doldrums.
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