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By
Agencies
THE International Monetary Fund has delayed Zimbabwe's possible expulsion
for unpaid debt, giving the southern African country six months to turn
around its economy, the state-run Herald said on Thursday.
Quoting Zimbabwe's central bank governor, Gideon Gono, the paper said the decision not to expel Zimbabwe was reached Wednesday in Washington by a majority of members on the IMF board of executive directors.
"The verdict from the fund comes as good news upon which greater efforts will be put (by Zimbabwe) to further consolidate the gains made so far," Gono told the paper.
Zimbabwe, which has been gripped by severe economic problems for the past six years, was facing possible expulsion as a member of the fund over unpaid debt amounting to some US$290 million (E234 million) by February.
The IMF stopped lending money to Zimbabwe in 1998 because it disagreed with various government policies.
Late last year the central bank launched a new monetary policy, which has seen inflows of foreign currency into government coffers improve and an official decrease in the rate of inflation, from over 600%, to around 400% in May.
An IMF research team that visited the country in March hailed the fact that Zimbabwe repaid US$6 million of the $290 million total.
It said Zimbabwe would continue to repay US$1.5 million every three months.
However, the team also noted that the country's gross domestic product had shrunk by 30%, school enrolment was down by 65%, and unemployment and poverty were up.
The Herald quoted
Gono as saying Zimbabwe would use the six-month grace period to improve
exports, repay international creditors and increase productivity.
AFP
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