FINANCE and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube on Friday ducked questions pertaining to the Zimbabwe-China bilateral donor funds allocation gaffe, saying the error was regrettable and has since been rectified.
During his 2020 Budget Statement, Ncube understated the funds extended to Zimbabwe by China by almost US$133 million.
While presenting his budget, the minister had also said between January and September this year, out of a total of US$194 million Zimbabwe got from the donor community, the bigger chunk had come from Western countries, in the process irking China who said they had provided the country with US$136.8 million, making it Zimbabwe’s biggest donor country.
But during a Press conference at the New Government Complex offices, Ncube refused to shed finer details and said the matter between Zimbabwe and China had since been settled.
“The issue of the figures has been discussed; only there was error on the figures. This has since been resolved. I cannot say much now,” Ncube said.
Last week, Ncube misrepresented China’s US$136.8 million contribution to Zimbabwe as US$3.6 million.
The Chinese embassy in Harare disputed the figure, saying in a statement: “This is very different from the situation on the ground.”
The embassy said its records showed that bilateral financial support to Zimbabwe was far greater, at $136.8m between January and September, adding that the figure excluded donations to vulnerable groups.
“The embassy wishes that the relevant departments of the Zimbabwean government will make comprehensive assessments on the statistics of bilateral support and accurately reflect its actual situation when formulating a budget statement,” the embassy had said in a statement.
But Ncube today said the matter has since been laid to rest following bilateral discussions between the two friendly countries.
