'Zanu-PF supporters shun loans with strings attached'

Zanu-PF supporters do not want external lenders and donors to enforce strict requirements such as promotion of democracy and respect of human rights, according to Afrobarometer, an independent pan-African survey research network.

Only 32% of Zanu-PF supporters were in support of strict democratic conditions attached to external loans and development, according to the survey.

Afrobarometer, led by the Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI), interviewed 1 200 adult citizens of Zimbabwe in April 2021. A sample of this size yields country level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Majority of the Zimbabwean citizens support the idea that external funders should enforce strict requirements on the given loans to promote democracy and human rights.

Citizens also want government to finance development from its own resources, instead of sourcing external funds and incurring debts, according to the survey.

Findings show that 74% of Zimbabweans object to the use of external loans for the development of the country, but opt for localised funding, even if it will result in higher taxes.

"Support for strict democracy conditions attached to external loans and development assistance is most evident among supporters of the opposition MDC Chamisa (82%, against 32% of Zanu-PF adherents) and in Harare metropolitan province (74%), an opposition stronghold," the Afrobarometer report read.

"With regards to development funding, most Zimbabweans want the country to finance its development with internal resources rather than external loans.

"In cases where Zimbabwe receives external loans or development assistance, views are divided on whether strict requirements should govern how such funding is used and should link it to the promotion of democracy and human rights.

An even larger majority (78%) say the government should continue to permit foreigners and foreign corporations to set up retail shops in the country to ensure that Zimbabweans have a wide selection of low-cost consumer goods."

The Afrobarometer findings showed that the majority of Zimbabweans find it difficult to travel across borders in southern Africa to conduct businesses.