Johannesburg/Harare — Zimbabwe is committed to repaying arrears to external lenders so it can resume support programmes with institutions such as the IMF and end years of isolation from global markets, said the country’s president. But Emmerson Mnangagwa, the 75-year-old who took over in November after Robert Mugabe resigned, showed little appetite for cutting costs in the manner the IMF has urged — such as firing state employees. "The economy had shrunk. Many people misunderstand. They think we have an oversized public service," he said in an interview last week. "That’s not the issue. What has happened is the public service is normal, what is not normal is the cake that must be shared. We must focus on growing the cake rather than attacking the civil service, saying it must be reduced." One of his priorities was reintegrating Zimbabwe into the global financial system. The economy has halved in size since 2000, and credit lines from most lenders have been withdrawn. Zimbabwe owes a...
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