Murerwa, Gono break US travel sanctions

Murerwa, Gono break US travel sanctions

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By Lebo Nkatazo

ZIMBABWE'S Finance Minister and the governor of the country's central bank are reportedly in the United States of America, despite a travel ban imposed by President George Bush last November, and renewed recently.

Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa and Reserve Bank boss Gideon Gono left Zimbabwe Sunday for a meeting with IMF officials, AFP reported.

President Bush signed an executive order last November freezing the U.S. assets of 128 people and 33 institutions in Zimbabwe. This expanded an original list of 77 people, including President Mugabe, whose assets were frozen in 2003.

Those on the list -- which includes Gono and Murerwa -- are also barred from travel in the United States except to United Nations functions.

In a speech delivered just last week, Bush said those on the US list were persons: “contributing to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe”.

No comment was immediately available from the US embassy in Zimbabwe Sunday night, but the trip will likely weaken the impact of US sanctions against President Mugabe's government.

The IMF executive board meets on Wednesday to review Zimbabwe's arrears to the Fund.

Zimbabwe is likely to ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance, Murerwa told AFP on Sunday.

Murerwa said: "Although our voting rights have now been restored we need technical assistance and financial assistance.

"We know this will not be automatically restored but this is something we hope to negotiate... We will be meeting the board on Wednesday."

Zimbabwe survived the IMF axe last month after it settled its General Resources Account (GRA) when it made a $9m (€7.4m) payment which helped the southern African nation retain its membership of the IMF.

The body had threatened to expel Zimbabwe from its ranks for failing to pay back loans since 2001 but the southern African country managed to bounce back after making a series of surprise payments since last September.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of economic crisis characterised by runaway inflation, soaring poverty levels, an unemployment rate hovering at over 70% and chronic shortages of fuel and basic goods like cornmeal.

However, despite the settling of the GRA, Harare still owes the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) account another $119m (€99m).

Murerwa said: "We still have to settle the PGRF bill to enable us to get funding from the IMF.

"We will pay it in due course and all other debts we owe," he added but declined to say when.
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