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'Mnangangwa a 'slippery' character, British ambassador
09 Dec 2016 at 09:50hrs | Views
British ambassador to Zimbabwe Catriona Laing has revealed that vice
president Emmerson Mnangagwa 'is not easily available' for any
engagement with.
Laing told a privately run publication that Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has never posed problems to her.
She described Chinamasa who presented 2017 national budget as being in a 'challenging position'.
"I did see minister Chinamasa recently and I haven't seen VP Mnangagwa for seven months. He is not easily available — at least not to me" she said when asked on Zimbabwe/United Kingdom diplomatic relations, criticism of Britain's re-engagement with the Zanu PF government and foreign direct investment from the UK and the 2018 elections.
She added "Minister Chinamasa, I think, is in a challenging position, there is no question.
"He reassures me that the government is committed to this process and I think there is some evidence to support that because they have cleared their arrears to the IMF.
"They are also still in these discussions with various private sector institutions on arrears clearance. They are indicating that some economic reforms have been implemented and we will hear more about this in the budget".
The ambassador said "Zimbabwe is not an easy country to lend money to. There is high political risk, there is high economic risk".
Laing told a privately run publication that Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has never posed problems to her.
She described Chinamasa who presented 2017 national budget as being in a 'challenging position'.
"I did see minister Chinamasa recently and I haven't seen VP Mnangagwa for seven months. He is not easily available — at least not to me" she said when asked on Zimbabwe/United Kingdom diplomatic relations, criticism of Britain's re-engagement with the Zanu PF government and foreign direct investment from the UK and the 2018 elections.
"He reassures me that the government is committed to this process and I think there is some evidence to support that because they have cleared their arrears to the IMF.
"They are also still in these discussions with various private sector institutions on arrears clearance. They are indicating that some economic reforms have been implemented and we will hear more about this in the budget".
The ambassador said "Zimbabwe is not an easy country to lend money to. There is high political risk, there is high economic risk".
Source - online
