Assistance For Zimbabwe

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Despite the animosity between Ian Khama and Robert Mugabe, presidents respectively of Botswana and Zimbabwe, the Batswana government has pledged BWP500mn (US$70mn) in aid and assistance to its neighbour. This is not just a question of benevolence, with the government guaranteeing funds loaned by commercial banks, but an attempt to avoid potentially deleterious ramifications for Botswana should Zimbabawe's economy not recover from its current state of near-implosion. The funds come as part of the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP) agreed by SADC in March, of which US$2bn is needed urgently, with a further US$8bn in the short term.