Mugabe eats humble pie

A few weeks after President Robert Mugabe told Western countries to "go hang", Zimbabwe's Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa will this week lead a delegation to Europe for meetings with global multi-lateral lending institutions.

Chinamasa will engage the country's creditors as Zimbabwe inches closer to a historic debt rescheduling, and will head to the United Kingdom in early July where he is scheduled to address the Africa Confidential conference dubbed: Zimbabwe: Rebooting and Rebuilding on July 5.

Mugabe, whose regime has struggled to stabilize the country's tottering economy, but maintained a firm grip on power by foul means, told thousands of his Zanu-PF party supporters that his government did not need any aid.