Harare rejects rand deal

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s government has dismissed as ‘wishful-thinking’ reports that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was planning to rescue Zimbabwe’s increasingly worthless currency by linking it to South Africa’s rand.

Information Minister and chief government spokesman Sikhanyiso Ndlovu dismissed the reported plan offhand, saying Zimbabwe, as a sovereign state could not surrender control of its currency to a foreign state. “I have read those reports, but I can tell you that is wishful thinking,” Ndlovu told ZimOnline.”How can that be when we are a sovereign state?” added Ndlovu, who spoke as SADC secretary general Tomaz Salomao left Zimbabwe on Sunday after holding talks with Harare officials on how to rescue the collapsing economy.The 14-nation SADC last March appointed South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate in Zimbabwe’s political crisis and tasked Salamao to draw up a plan to end Zimbabwe’s unprecedented economic meltdown that has negatively affected the entire region.Mbeki is this week hosting secret talks between Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party in Pretoria aimed at finding a negotiated settlement to the political impasse between Zimbabwe’s two biggest political movements.In a dramatic expose, a Sunday newspaper reported that SADC was putting together a plan to rescue Zimbabwe’s crumbling economy by pegging the Zimbabwe dollar to the South African rand.The paper said SADC wanted to stabilise the exchange rate of the Zimbabwe dollar and curb rampant inflation.Under the SADC plan, Zimbabwe would be included in the multilateral monetary area of, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland were the rand is legal tender.However, they were quick to add that they did not see Mugabe accepting a plan that would in essence see Harare surrendering monetary control to the Southern African Reserve Bank.ZimOnline”I have read those reports, but I can tell you that is wishful thinking,” Ndlovu told ZimOnline.”How can that be when we are a sovereign state?” added Ndlovu, who spoke as SADC secretary general Tomaz Salomao left Zimbabwe on Sunday after holding talks with Harare officials on how to rescue the collapsing economy.The 14-nation SADC last March appointed South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate in Zimbabwe’s political crisis and tasked Salamao to draw up a plan to end Zimbabwe’s unprecedented economic meltdown that has negatively affected the entire region.Mbeki is this week hosting secret talks between Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party in Pretoria aimed at finding a negotiated settlement to the political impasse between Zimbabwe’s two biggest political movements. In a dramatic expose, a Sunday newspaper reported that SADC was putting together a plan to rescue Zimbabwe’s crumbling economy by pegging the Zimbabwe dollar to the South African rand.The paper said SADC wanted to stabilise the exchange rate of the Zimbabwe dollar and curb rampant inflation.Under the SADC plan, Zimbabwe would be included in the multilateral monetary area of, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland were the rand is legal tender.However, they were quick to add that they did not see Mugabe accepting a plan that would in essence see Harare surrendering monetary control to the Southern African Reserve Bank.ZimOnline