Share

Chinamasa: SA banks taking advantage of Zim

Pretoria - Zimbabwe's finance minister Patrick Chinamasa on Wednesday criticised South African's banks for wanting to charge more when its neighbour approaches them for loans.

"Your financial institutions make it more expensive than when they lend to their own clients here," he said after agreements were signed between the two countries at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

"What is the justification for money going across the border being more expensive than when [in] Limpopo?" he asked journalists after Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma had addressed the media on relations between the two countries.

"Why is it more expensive just crossing a river?" Chinamasa asked.

"It's like taking advantage of our situation..."

Asked whether he had come to South Africa to borrow money for the country, which has survived hyperinflation and had to stop using its own currency in favour of the  US dollar, he said: "No. No. No."

And then repeated it: "No. No. No. We have not come to borrow money."

He added that there should not be any negative sentiment if the country did want to borrow money.

"Borrowing is not for free," he said.

"There is no business that does not borrow, including countries."

The country had laid very large foundations for economic recovery and had recently started inter-bank lending again, he continued.

There would be further clarifications of the country's "resource nationalisation" indiginisation laws which, Mugabe earlier defended saying the 51% government ownership requirement was "generous", because companies got to keep 49% for themselves.

It would not be a ''one size fits all"' approach.

There would be no immediate return to Zimbabwe's own currency, he said.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.93
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
907.85
+1.2%
Palladium
1,012.25
+1.1%
Gold
2,218.87
+1.1%
Silver
24.85
+0.8%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders