Zimbabwe has $209 in the bank - ABC Online

Posted January 31, 2013 15:37:13

After paying public workers' salaries last week, the balance in cash-strapped Zimbabwe's government public account stood at just $US217.

Finance minister Tendai Biti made the admission to reporters in the capital Harare, adding that some workers had healthier bank balances than the country.

"The government finances are in paralysis state at the present moment. We are failing to meet our targets," he said.

Zimbabwe's economy went into freefall at the turn of the millennium after president Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms.

The move demolished investor confidence in the country, paralysed production, prompted international sanctions and scared off tourists.

After more than a decade - in which the country suffered hyper-inflation of 231 million per cent and infrastructure that crumbled as quickly as prices went up - the situation is now more stable.

But public finances remain a mess and local business battles against unstable electricity supplies, lack of liquidity and high labour costs.

Zimbabwe's government has warned it does not have enough money to fund a constitutional referendum and elections expected this year.

Mr Biti said that left no choice but to ask donors for cash.

"We will be approaching the international community," he said.

The country's elections agency said it required $104 million to organise the vote.

The government's national budget for this year stands at $US3.8 billion and the economy is projected to grow 5.0 per cent.

The mineral-rich country is now using the US dollar and the South African rand.

AFP

Topics: world-politics, human-interest, zimbabwe