Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09HARARE289
2009-04-06 15:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Harare
Cable title:
IMPROVED BUDGET TRANSPARENCY IN ZIMBABWE
how-toVZCZCXRO0686 PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN DE RUEHSB #0289 0961547 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 061547Z APR 09 FM AMEMBASSY HARARE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4338 INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2265 RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2766 RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2888 RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2153 RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2509 RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2936 RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5377 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2055 RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK RUZEHAA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE
UNCLAS HARARE 000289
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
AF/EPS FOR ANN BREITER
EEB/IFD/OMA FOR JULIA JACOBY
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND J. HARMON
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PREL EFIN PGOV ZI
SUBJECT: IMPROVED BUDGET TRANSPARENCY IN ZIMBABWE
REF: A. SECSTATE 28885
B. HARARE 0260
C. HARARE 232
UNCLAS HARARE 000289
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
AF/EPS FOR ANN BREITER
EEB/IFD/OMA FOR JULIA JACOBY
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND J. HARMON
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PREL EFIN PGOV ZI
SUBJECT: IMPROVED BUDGET TRANSPARENCY IN ZIMBABWE
REF: A. SECSTATE 28885
B. HARARE 0260
C. HARARE 232
1. (U) The Government of Zimbabwe is a recipient of FY09
foreign assistance, as defined in Ref A, under the Department
of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs
Appropriations Act (SFOAA). Post therefore provides the
following response to the questions contained in Ref A.
2. (U) The Government of Zimbabwe's budget is publicly
available, and incomes and expenditures are included in the
budget.
3. (SBU) The formation of an inclusive government in
February, 2009 and the appointment of Tendai Biti of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),which had been the
opposition party, as Minister of Finance, paved the way for
the introduction of a revised and considerably more realistic
FY09 budget. Soon after taking office, Biti introduced a
cash budget (Ref B),i.e. expenditures match revenue, and he
prohibited off-budget spending. He also seized back
traditional finance ministry powers from the Governor of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, who had mismanaged public finance
in the past years.
4. (SBU) A recent IMF mission to Zimbabwe concluded that the
Government's income estimate for FY09 was overly optimistic
(Ref C). In light of the gaping lack of information on
private sector activity and its capacity to rebound, we
nevertheless believe that the budget broadly reflects actual
government incomes and expenditures in this first year of
economic recovery in Zimbabwe in over a decade, and that the
budget is therefore in compliance with Section 7088(c) of the
SFOAA.
MCGEE
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
AF/EPS FOR ANN BREITER
EEB/IFD/OMA FOR JULIA JACOBY
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND J. HARMON
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PREL EFIN PGOV ZI
SUBJECT: IMPROVED BUDGET TRANSPARENCY IN ZIMBABWE
REF: A. SECSTATE 28885
B. HARARE 0260
C. HARARE 232
1. (U) The Government of Zimbabwe is a recipient of FY09
foreign assistance, as defined in Ref A, under the Department
of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs
Appropriations Act (SFOAA). Post therefore provides the
following response to the questions contained in Ref A.
2. (U) The Government of Zimbabwe's budget is publicly
available, and incomes and expenditures are included in the
budget.
3. (SBU) The formation of an inclusive government in
February, 2009 and the appointment of Tendai Biti of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),which had been the
opposition party, as Minister of Finance, paved the way for
the introduction of a revised and considerably more realistic
FY09 budget. Soon after taking office, Biti introduced a
cash budget (Ref B),i.e. expenditures match revenue, and he
prohibited off-budget spending. He also seized back
traditional finance ministry powers from the Governor of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, who had mismanaged public finance
in the past years.
4. (SBU) A recent IMF mission to Zimbabwe concluded that the
Government's income estimate for FY09 was overly optimistic
(Ref C). In light of the gaping lack of information on
private sector activity and its capacity to rebound, we
nevertheless believe that the budget broadly reflects actual
government incomes and expenditures in this first year of
economic recovery in Zimbabwe in over a decade, and that the
budget is therefore in compliance with Section 7088(c) of the
SFOAA.
MCGEE