Botswana debt write-off raises stink

Botswana debt write-off raises stink

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By Agencies

THE 20 million-litre fuel credit line worth over P28 million, which Botswana extended to Zimbabwe in 2000 has been "indirectly written off", according to the latest Auditor General's Report.

Botswana's Auditor General Seletlanyo Serema is seeking clarification from his Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation on why they wrote the loan off.

The just released Auditor General's report for the year that ended on March 31, 2003 questions, "whether it was a loan or was it made on ex gratia basis (done as a favour)".

Serema told BOPA that Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation said it had settled the debt by crediting the National Petroleum Fund from which the loan was drawn.

This was done by debiting against the ministry's 2001/2002 recurrent vote with the hope that Zimbabwe would reciprocate in kind, he said.

He wondered who gave the ministry authority to settle the loan.

"If it has to be written off Cabinet has to give authority because it is a lot of money." According to the report, the matter was discussed at length at the last sitting of the Public Accounts Committee without reaching any conclusion.

"As a follow up on the matter, I (Auditor General) wrote to the accounting officer in November 2003 to enquire and also to seek his justification for writing off the amount." Botswana loaned Zimbabwe 10 million litres of diesel fuel, five million litres of petrol and five million litres of aviation fuel in 2000 to address an acute fuel shortage.

Since then the government had apparently been exerting pressure on Zimbabwe to service the loan but to no avail.

The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper reported in 2002 that "the Botswana government has used every platform available to raise the issue with Harare, especially with the foreign affairs department during regional gatherings.".
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