Mnangagwa plans economic revival

Zimbabwe's new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has a plan to revive one of the world's worst-performing economies and end its isolation: pay compensation to white farmers whose land was confiscated, sell bonds to rebuild infrastructure and hold internationally acceptable elections.

It's a tall order for a man who served more than half a century at the side of former president Robert Mugabe and was a key figure in a government that oversaw an economy that halved in size since 2000 and the collapse of the agricultural industry. Yet, Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former spy chief, remains optimistic he can win lender support and tap international capital markets.

"Can we not do it? We think we should do it," he said of a potential bond sale in an interview Thursday. "We really need a substantial investment in the productive economy."