IMF eases restrictions on Zimbabwe following COPAC conference
By Business Reporter

Published: October 30, 2012

Comment

(Harare)The international monetary has announced relaxing it’s restrictions on economic monitoring support to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is to resume receiving support like most other countries in the world from the IMF with immediate effect despite defaulting in payments.

A statement released on Tuesday indicated the IMF are satisfied that Zimbabwe is on a definite promising path to economic and constitutional reform. It gave the impression that IMF honours the constitution making process under the parliament driven committee COPAC.

The statement released Tuesday stated:
“The executive board has decided to resume IMF technical assistance in certain new areas to support Zimbabwe’s formulation and implementation of a comprehensive adjustment and structural reform program that can be monitored by the staff.”

The IMF positive move comes despite an announcement by President Robert Mugabe last week in which he nullified COPAC’s authority claiming that only he and the other two principals have the last say on the constitution draft.

This positive development comes immediately after the country held its 2nd All Stakeholders Conference at the Rainbow Towers hotel last week just as the COPAC management vowed to continue with the drive despite resistance.

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IMF refuses new aid for Zimbabwe
By A-Correspondent

Published: July 2, 2009

Comment

The International Monetary Fund has told Zimbabwe that it will not provide the country with more funds until its existing $1bn debts are settled.

Zimbabwe’s government estimates it will need $10bn (£6bn) of foreign aid to help rebuild its battered economy.

But the IMF said that Zimbabwe would need to clear its debts and show a sustained record of sound policies before it could give financing.

China recently agreed to give Zimbabwe a loan of $950m.

China was one of the few countries to retain economic support for Zimbabwe in recent years.

The IMF said that Zimbabwe’s economic policies had improved and a “nascent economic recovery appears to be under way”.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai visited the US and Europe earlier this month in an attempt to raise funding for the struggling nation.

The US promised $73m in aid while the UK pledged to boost its funding by about $8m, taking its total to $98m for the year.

Mr Tsvangirai said he had received pledges totalling $500m during his trip. (Source: BBC)

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Zimbabwe Among African Nations Defaulting on IMF Loans-
By _

Published: September 13, 2012

Comment

Sebastian Mhofu|VOA| HARARE — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is concerned by the failure of Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe to honor their commitments to pay their financial debts. This comes at a time when Zimbabwe’s finance minister says he expects some clemency from the IMF over Zimbabwe’s $10 billion external debt.

In a report entitled Review of the Fund’s Strategy on Overdue Financial Obligations released this week, the IMF said Zimbabwe and the war-ravaged nations of Sudan and Somalia are the three African defaulting countries.

Somalia and Sudan have accumulated obligations dating back to the mid-1980s, while Zimbabwe has been in arrears since 2001.

Ahead of the report’s release, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti said he hoped the IMF would announce good news next week to the African nation, which has a $10 billion debt.

“We believe that our macro-economic fundamentals are sound, and that there is no reason at all why a positive decision would not be made in our favor,” he said. “The importance of that IMF decision is that it will enable us to deal with the key issues of arrears that are the hindrance, [as] are sanctions, against Zimbabwe accessing huge levels of capital finance at the World Bank and the African Development [Bank].”

Recently, Zimbabwe’s government refused to adopt the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) status, which would have resulted in the country mortgaging its mineral resources against its huge debt.

Zimbabwe Among Poor African Nations Defaulting on IMF Loans
Zimbabwe’s agricultural-based economy took a nosedive in early 2000 when the country embarked on a chaotic and violent land reform exercise targeting white commercial farmers, seizing their farms, and replacing many of them with peasant farmers.

After a decade of decline, the country has improved somewhat since the creation of a unity government in 2009. But Biti has said the recovery will remain weak and precarious until Zimbabwe receives international assistance to get its industries back on track.

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IMF wants Biti to handle all diamond dealings
By _

Published: June 9, 2011

Comment

HARARE – The International Monetary Fund wants Finance Minister Tendai Biti to handle all diamond transactions by transferring the administration of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation to his ministry.

The Bretton Woods institution wants this captured in the Diamonds Revenue Bill that is now before Cabinet and expected to be sent to Parliament soon for consideration. The IMF proposal follows indications by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that Zimbabwe will use revenue from diamond sales to repay part of its external debt totalling $7.1 billion.
Zimbabwe is following a strict IMF prescription that has restored sanity to the central bank and seen the country’s voting rights restored after a seven-year suspension, a step toward normalizing relations with major donors. Zimbabwe is, however, not eligible for financial aid until it clears its arrears, about $1,3billion, to the Fund, the World Bank and African Development Bank.

A letter from a consultant drafting the Diamond Revenue Bill, Brian Crozier, to Biti (seen by The Zimbabwean) says: “The IMF chief of mission suggested an amendment to the ZMDC Act in order to give you power to direct the disposition of the corporation’s revenues.”

He said he had inserted a new section, giving Biti power to issue directives which will in effect place the ZMDC under the supervision of the mMinistry of Finance and ZimRA. Zimbabwe plans to seek relief for 68 percent of its debt from foreign lenders and pay the remainder using proceeds from minerals such as diamonds and platinum.

The resolution of the debt is crucial for Zimbabwe to return to the international community. The Diamond Revenue Bill is set to stir intense debate when it is tabled in Parliament. Biti was not immediately available for comment. Critics say the ministry of Finance should steer clear of the mining sector and leave the ministry of Mines to handle all mining.

A prayer session held at a primary school in Nyeri yesterday left attendants shocked after a class six pupil confessed to have been behind the recent evil spirit attacks in the school.

The girl who fell on the ground as she made the shocking confession said that she had been ordered to deliver 15 pupils to the evil spirits and she had as of yesterday delivered 8 and was remaining with 7.

In dismay the girls who had been delivered all fainted one by one as the girl called out their names.

Apparently the school administration was concerned about the hysteria going on in the school with multiple cases of fainting reported in the past few weeks. The school nurse said that about 38 cases had been reported and on taking them to hospital after the fainting, they were always declared healthy.

Nyeri Provincial Hospital medics had advised the Mt. Kenya Salvation Primary school to take the pupils for psychiatric help since the hysteria was alarming.

Parents, teachers and clerics present at the prayers day were left shocked as they prayed and poured holy water on the girl who was writhing and shivering as the prayers continued.

The girl went hoarse when she was told by the clerics to say Jesus Saves.

Teachers have been advised to be keener on any behavior changes on the students.

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The Daily Grind: Sacrifice

By Charlotte Dugan

I was at my grain mill, grinding flour for our daily bread. Out the window the rain came down–again. In the Northeast we haven’t had the violent outbreaks of tornadoes that have plagued the Midwest, but we’ve had an overabundance of storms, and many of them have been powerful, loud, lightning-laden cloudbursts. As I turned the flywheel around and around I was reminded of one particular 4th of July. I was 9 years old, and we were at my aunt and uncle’s house for a barbeque. Out of clear, blue skies came a powerful storm, and with it, tornadoes. I remember the fear of crouching in the basement hoping for safety. As we drove home later that night, power lines were down everywhere, branches and trees strewn about like pick-up sticks. And on our arrival home, our own 100-year old tree lay across the driveway and on our neighbor’s lawn.

The next day we learned that another neighbor had been at Lakewood Park on Lake Erie for the Independence Day festivities when the mighty storm hit. She was 16 years old. Amidst the wind, rain, lightning, and thunder, she took refuge under a huge, old tree. Suddenly, the tree was ripped from its roots and began to fall. At the last second, a boy nearby pushed her out of the way, and was killed right where she had just stood.

As I pondered this, some questions came to mind. Being only 9, I don’t remember all the details of the incident. I wondered if she knew the boy; if he were her friend or just a bystander. I wondered how her family dealt with the boy’s death, and whether or not they went to his funeral, and how it would be to face his parents, whose loss was so great, whose burden so incomprehensible, but whose sacrifice saved their own daughter. I especially wondered about the 16-year-old. Was she a wild girl, or well behaved? What impact did this boy have on her life, and how differently did she live afterward? Maybe it had no effect at all.

2 Corinthians 5:15
“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

In two different scenarios, people have universally asked of God, “Why ME?” The first is amidst their own personal suffering and pain, and the second is when they survived a tragedy that took the lives of others, such as a plane crash, or in a war.

So in a sort of role reversal, let’s say you are the 16-year-old girl. How do YOU feel when you ask, “Why me?” Let’s say you discover the boy was a pretty lousy person, selfish, mean-spirited, a bully and a braggart, and that in this, his final moment, he reached out and ended his life with this one selfless act. That might tempt you to feel somewhat justified about the whole situation, and yet I doubt that even then you would remain unchanged, unmotivated to live a better life. But what if he were your best friend?

One of the most agonizing occasions for any man or woman to ask “Why me?” is when faced with their life being spared at the expense of another better than their own. We instinctively see the unfairness of it, the injustice, the greatness of the other. The more we learn and know of the other’s life, their goodness and value, the little touches that made them distinct and powerful in their influence on the world, the more it moves us to respond. I submit that our response to that sacrifice is in direct proportion to our clear understanding of what occurred and who it was that gave their life for us.

When it comes to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us, the Word of God is very clear on the state we were in:

Romans 5:6-8
(6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
(7) Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
(8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:1
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.

As to the state of Jesus Christ, our Sacrifice, the Word of God is also abundantly clear.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin [a sin offering] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

He had no sin. NO sin. NO sin. Wow.

At this moment, stop and consider this man who died for you. How well do you really know him? Can you say you have a personal relationship with him, like you have with your best friend? Do you really understand what he’s done for you? Can you visualize a face for him, a smile, a moment with him in person? Would you sit with him and watch the television shows you watch? Would you tell the jokes you tell with him at your side? Would you get up and answer the phone for a needy friend at 10 p.m. if Jesus were staying with you? Because he IS at your side, and he IS with you. Again I submit that your response to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will be in direct proportion to your clear understanding of what occurred and who it was that gave his life for you.

How was it that Paul was able to say:

Philippians 3:7-11
(7) But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
(8)What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
(9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
(10) I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
(11) and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Who wants to party with someone who guarantees that, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (2 Tim. 3:12)? Paul did. Why? He must have known Jesus Christ so personally that he saw something glorious! He understood the nature of life, and where this thing is going, and what Jesus has in store. Why you? For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten Son for you, that whosoever you are, you could share in eternal life (John 3:16). God saw value in you, in your abilities and life. And Jesus pushed you out of the way of the falling tree.

1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

And…

1 John 3:16a
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

So now what? The ball is in your court. As you get to know your Lord, as you develop your understanding of just who he was/is and what he did/is doing/will do for you, you will find your response approximating the sacrifice. It is then that you can fulfill Ephesians 4:1:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Title: ziggy an candy come suck out mi ++++

Message Body:
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