Mthuli Ncube in new attempt to get SA loans

Fresh from being politely denied a bailout by SA's government just a fortnight ago, Zimbabwean finance minister Mthuli Ncube said he had approached private investors in SA to inject funds into his country's cash-starved economy.

Ncube was in SA this week and met private investors in Johannesburg.

Speaking after a cabinet briefing in Harare on Wednesday, Ncube confirmed that he presented "the begging bowl" to SA investors during his visit on Monday and Tuesday.

He told Business Day that Zimbabwe was negotiating loan facilities to recapitalise companies. He had targeted companies with existing ties to Zimbabwean firms.

"The idea is to give capacity to our companies to source equipment from South African companies using resources from there. That is the nature of the loans we are negotiating.

"So I had gone to drum up support for that and we will be updated as we go along, in regards to that. We are targeting companies that have relationships with SA companies, in terms of procurement of imports and exports" he said.

The Zimbabwean government was in a position to guarantee any loans taken up under the facility, Ncube said.

Some of the targeted investors included banks, insurance companies and private investors.

"It's quite a spread of investors and we hope that they can join us in this drive. I was able to meet some of the investors in Johannesburg and video conferenced with others in Cape Town and Durban."

Ncube said his latest visit to SA was a follow-up to the recently held SA-Zimbabwe Bi-national Commission, where the two governments agreed to boost mutually beneficial trade.

At the commission, held in Harare a fortnight ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that SA would not immediately release funds to Zimbabwe but noted that "discussions are ongoing".