HARARE - Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) President Lovemore Matombo has called for the setting up of an Accountability Commission to look into the causes of the US$7.5 billion debt that Zimbabwe is currently groaning under.
The country owes a staggering US$6.7 billion to multilateral institutions and various other international lenders with the debt said to be racking up US$300 million a year in interest. But it is unclear what the funds borrowed by President Robert Mugabe’s pervious government were used for, with his Zanu (PF) party unwilling to have an independent audit of the debt, especially the portion of funds borrowed on the country’s behalf by central bank governor Gideon Gono.
Speaking at the occasion to mark the Week Against Debt from the 11th of October to the 17th, ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo said that ordinary Zimbabweans should not pay debts that they did not benefit from but were used by self serving Zanu (PF) looters. “The debt that Zimbabwe owes to the International Financial Institutions is a major cause of poverty in the country. Poverty started after Mugabe’s Government adopted the ESAP (Economic Structural Adjustment Programme) in the early 90s.
“Our question as workers is who used the loans and how did the country benefit from this debt. Zimbaweans should not be made to pay for money that they did not use,” said Matombo. In future Matombo said that there should be adequate mechanisms to ensure that there is transparency. “What happened to the money that Mugabe’s government borrowed before the Government of National Unity. There is need for a debt audit. An office that looks into the debts should be set up to ensure accountability,” said Matombo.
According to ZIMCODD, the country debt/population ratio is estimated at US$525.03 per person. “People should not be used to pay for loans that were looted by Zanu (PF) officials. It is tantamount to throwing money in a toilet. Those who took the money owes it to Zimbabweans to be accountable, there is no justification to the poor over taxed Zimbabwean making the payments,” said Matombo.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year said the debt was so huge it could be resolved even if the government adopted the right economic policies and increased mineral extraction to raise cash to repay the amount.
The Bretton Woods institution, which is among multilateral lenders owed money by Harare, said only debt relief could save Zimbabwe's economy.
But the coalition administration is yet to agree on a course of action to resolve a debt crisis. Cabinet is expected to debate a possible new debt strategy although Finance Minister Tendai Biti insists that the government has developed a new “hybrid programme” to address the ballooning debt. 

By The Zimbabwean