Visiting African Development Bank Group ( AfDB) President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina yesterday pledged to help Zimbabwe’s US$13,5 billion debt clearance plan after meeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare.
Adesina accepted a request in February by the Zimbabwean government to serve as the country’s arrears clearance and debt resolution champion among international financial institutions and bilateral creditors.
Speaking after meeting Mnangagwa, he said his gesture was a result of the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe due to targeted sanctions.
“I told President Mnangagwa that it is about the people of Zimbabwe. They have suffered long enough, you know two decades. When I look at the situation today you have 49% of the people in extreme poverty and that really has to change through new hope,” he said.
Zimbabwe is the only regional member country of the African Development Bank currently under sanctions from the Bank and other multilateral financial institutions because of debt arrears amounting to over $2.6 billion.
The African Development Bank has run the $145.8 million Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund (‘the ZimFund’) from 2010 through June.
The ZimFund has been an essential source of financial support for the country’s energy, water and sanitation infrastructure. The seven ZimFund financiers are the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland.
Adesina said he was moved by Mnangagwa’s commitment to the arrears clearance process and international community re-engagement.
“As the President of AfDB, I will help in that. I told him (Mnangagwa) about five regions where I am taking on a similar role. It is my duty and responsibility to do so because we have 54 member countries from Africa and Zimbabwe is one of them. So when one of them hurts, the whole part hurts,” he said.
He underscored that he accepted the role because Zimbabwe has been a reliable shareholder of the bank as testified by the US$9,6 million payment made as part of the general capital increase despite economic challenges back home.
“Zimbabwe has also continued to make token payments of roughly US$700 000 a year to clear some of the outstanding debts.
“The third is the fact that I really believe that it is time to reinvigorate and dynamise the economy here because it is critical for the SADC. We are now talking about the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and of course Zimbabwe needs to play a very big role,” he said.
