Zimbabwe begins talks with IMF

HARARE – Zimbabwean officials yesterday began a week of crunch talks with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund, which is weighing whether to expel the southern African country from its ranks.

“We began meeting,” Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa told AFP, adding: “We are not ready to make any comment at this time.” The delegation will be holding meetings until next Monday after which it is expected to issue a statement on the conclusion of its mission.The talks come ahead of the September 9 meeting of the IMF board that is to decide whether to strip Zimbabwe of its membership in the lending club because of its failure to meet its obligations.Zimbabwe has fallen behind on repayments of IMF loans totalling about US$300 million and has failed to meet IMF demands to limit public spending.South Africa earlier this month agreed to step in with a loan to ensure that its neighbour retains its IMF membership but Zimbabwe has not yet said whether it will accept it.Talks held in Pretoria three weeks ago reportedly yielded a tentative agreement on a loan of between US$200 and US$500 million including about US$100 million dollars to be paid to the IMF.- Nampa-AFPThe delegation will be holding meetings until next Monday after which it is expected to issue a statement on the conclusion of its mission.The talks come ahead of the September 9 meeting of the IMF board that is to decide whether to strip Zimbabwe of its membership in the lending club because of its failure to meet its obligations.Zimbabwe has fallen behind on repayments of IMF loans totalling about US$300 million and has failed to meet IMF demands to limit public spending.South Africa earlier this month agreed to step in with a loan to ensure that its neighbour retains its IMF membership but Zimbabwe has not yet said whether it will accept it.Talks held in Pretoria three weeks ago reportedly yielded a tentative agreement on a loan of between US$200 and US$500 million including about US$100 million dollars to be paid to the IMF.- Nampa-AFP

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