Finance Minister Biti to address World Economic Forum

By Lance Guma
11 June 2009

Finance Minister Tendai Biti will address the World Economic Forum in South Africa on Friday. He is expected to use his speech to make an appeal for financial aid to fund the coalition governments ‘Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme’. Biti will be part of a panel that includes Deputy South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and Kingdom Meikles Africa group chief executive officer, Nigel Chanakira. Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara will also address the same forum.

Speaking to Newsreel on Thursday Biti said he took part in a fund raising dinner Wednesday evening in which he met South Africa’s new Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, and Trade Minister Rob Davis. Key investors in both the public and private sector were also present. Asked if he was battling skepticism towards the coalition government Biti said ‘I don’t see where the skepticism is coming from when you see the progress we have made? A year ago Zimbabwe was a war zone, now it is not.’

Pressed further on the MDC’s own admission that there were outstanding issues Biti said; ‘The MDC is a party in government but not the government.’ He said the mixed messages were being generated by journalists who did not appreciate the distinction. But with Prime Minister Tsvangirai getting demands for more reforms before any aid, during his trip to Europe and America, Newsreel asked Biti if this was not a clear sign that the outstanding issues were hampering progress.

‘That’s an unscientific appreciation of why the Prime Minister is out. The Prime Minister has not gone there with a black briefcase to receive cheques. He has gone there to engage and re-intergrate (the country). That never used to happen. It’s not about the cheque book. It’s about nation building,’ Biti said.