Categories: Stories

Surprise, surprise

A month ago Zimbabwe was broke. It only had $217 in its kitty. Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa were tasked with raising money from donors, $252 million for the national referendum and the elections. No one came forward.

Suddenly, the country has raised money locally to hold the referendum. The amount has not yet been disclosed but the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission needed $82 million for the exercise.

Once again everyone is talking about sovereignty. Why in the hell did they not think about this before humiliating themselves?

Come to think of it, if the country can raise enough money, locally, to run elections at such short notice why is it failing to raise money for something more productive, something that can create wealth?

 

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Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

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