Government given 60-day ultimatum to publish debt information

The High Court has made what has been termed a landmark ruling in which it has ordered the government to disclose all the terms conditions of loans and guarantees.

The ruling came after an urgent application by the Water Alliance in which it sought to force the government to publish terms & conditions of all loans & guarantees it concluded with or in favour of African Export-Import Bank or any other 3rd party financiers.

The applicant represented the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights argued that the State was violating the Constitution by not disclosing information of public interest.

In his ruling, High Court Judge Justice Happias Zhou said the State should publish the details in an Extraordinary Government Gazette by 30 January 2021 showing loans & guarantees borrowed or transacted between 2017 to November 2020.

Justice Zhou ruled that government’s failure to publish terms of loans and guarantees it concluded with Africa Export Import Bank or other financiers from 2017 to date within 60 days of their conclusion is a violation of Section 300 (3) of Constitution and Section 18 (2) of Public Debt Management Act.

-Zwnews