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Exploring U.S. Policy Options during Zimbabwe's Transition
Acting Assistant Secretary Baukol Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
September 30, 2009--Chairman Feingold, Senator Isakson, and distinguished members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify at this important hearing on the current situation in Zimbabwe. Thank you also for asking my colleagues from the Department of State and USAID to join me at the witness table. I think we all agree that Zimbabwe's economy has taken a turn for the better over the last seven months and that progress could be fleeting if it is not supported by a political solution that restores democracy, rule of law, and strong institutions.
People who follow Zimbabwe closely are probably familiar with the recent economic trends, but it is worth recapping the economic mismanagement that devastated the country and contributed to the profound fragility of the current situation. When Robert Mugabe took office as leader of Zimbabwe after a long civil war, Zimbabwe had all the ingredients necessary for prosperity. With a per capita GDP of around $1,400[1], Zimbabwe was blessed with ample mineral resources, decent infrastructure, and productive farms that made it a breadbasket to Southern Africa. In 1980, Tanzania's then-President Nyerere told Mugabe he had inherited the "jewel of Africa." For almost two decades, Mugabe's government managed to maintain economic growth and roughly stable per capita GDP, but beginning in the late 1990s, the wheels began to come off. Thanks to a set of disastrous economic policies, headlined by a chaotic land redistribution scheme, five decades of economic progress were erased in five years, with per capita GDP in 2005 roughly equaling that in 1953, according to an analysis by the Center for Global Development. The combination of undermining the rule of law, instituting oppressive economic decrees, and suppressing press freedoms and political opposition led one observer in 2003 to describe Zimbabwe as a case study in "How to Kill a Country."[2]
The economic crisis further deepened as bad policies and the government's paranoid reaction to international isolation due to gross violations of human rights fed the spiral of decline.
The government revalued the currency in 2006 but quickly began resorting to the printing press to paper over yawning budget deficits. Inflation hit 90 sextillion percent in November 2008.
Despite its former status as a breadbasket for the region – one that sourced UN-sponsored food aid to other countries in Africa[3] – Zimbabwe's agricultural output declined to the point that about half of the population was in need of food aid in 2008.
Neglect of the medical sector and water infrastructure helped lead to a cholera outbreak that killed 4,276, according to the WHO.[4]
An estimated one-fourth of the population left conditions in Zimbabwe over the last decade; most went to South Africa in search of jobs to support their families.
The country's reserves plummeted to $5.8 million by the end of 2008, according to the IMF,[5] despite the country's possession of mineral resources such as chromite, coal, platinum, asbestos, copper, nickel, gold, and iron ore.
Economic activity and GDP plummeted, with the IMF estimating that per capita GDP fell to $188 on a PPP basis in 2008.
In this context, the last seven months have been characterized by relative economic stability as reformist elements of the transitional government began to undo some of the more disastrous economic policies of the previous nine years.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Deputy Secretary Wolin Remarks to the Corporate Council on Africa
September 30, 2009-Good morning and thank you very much, Lionel, for that kind introduction. It is a privilege to be with you this morning.
This seventh U.S.-Africa Business Summit convenes at a time of enormous consequence for Africa and for the world. The global financial crisis has proved again, if anyone doubted it, that the nations of the world are inextricably intertwined – north and south, developed and developing
For African nations, that truth was clear before the financial crisis, as global shifts in supply and demand sent fuel and food prices skyrocketing in 2008.
The financial crisis compounded those economic shocks. As growth rates in developed nations plummeted, demand for African exports fell. So too did the levels of foreign direct investment and remittances. This year, capital inflows are projected to be just half of their 2007 levels.
The slowdown has been particularly dramatic in the continent's largest economies: South Africa, Nigeria, Angola. But the effects have also been severe in the smaller economies – many of which had seen rapid growth in recent years.
The Obama administration recognizes the seriousness of this crisis for Africa's economies. We have responded with vigorous support through the international financial institutions and through bilateral assistance to address the immediate impact of the crisis.
Working with development partners, African governments, too, have taken immediate measures to cushion the impact of the crisis – loosening monetary and fiscal policy, when possible, to stimulate growth.
These steps, along with the emerging global recovery, are likely to lead to a rebound in African growth, with the IMF projecting a healthy 4.1% real GDP growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. Private capital inflows to Africa, after shrinking year-on-year since 2006, are forecasted to expand again next year. The value of exports from Sub-Saharan Africa, which shrank by 38% this year after six years of double-digit growth, is expected to grow by 13% in 2010.
Africa appears to be turning the corner.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
SEC Conducts Regional Securities Market Oversight Training Program in Africa
September 24, 2009--As part of its longstanding activities to increase international cooperation among securities regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission has completed the latest of its training programs for foreign officials.
The five-day Capital Market Development and Oversight Training Program, which included foreign officials in Africa, concluded last week.
The program in Accra, Ghana, was part of the SEC's technical assistance training program, which was established in 1991 and has provided training for more than 1,800 foreign capital market officials from more than 100 foreign jurisdictions this year.
During the recent program, SEC staff conducted intensive training for foreign officials on methods for conducting investigations of insider trading, financial accounting fraud, market manipulation, pyramid schemes, and broker-dealer abuses. The training also included instruction on broker-dealer examinations, compliance, anti-money laundering, market development strategies, and the causes of the global financial crisis.
In addition to the SEC instructors, each day also featured sessions led by market experts from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria regarding the challenges of capital and commodities market development in Africa. The discussions emphasized the potential that commodities and capital markets have to transform African economies.
The regional African program was the SEC's largest to date in Africa, featuring 99 delegates from 10 African countries: Cameroon, Cote D' Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. The program was hosted by the Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission, and included financial sponsorship from the United States Agency for International Development.
Professor E.V.O Danquah, Chairman of the Ghana SEC, said, "The Ghana SEC is proud and honored to have hosted this invaluable opportunity for key officials from so many African markets to come together with the U.S. SEC to discuss how we may work together to build African capital markets and combat market abuse. This week-long program featured an incredible exchange of best practices, practical experience, and an intense dialogue among participants on how we may all work together to ensure that our markets develop with a reputation for integrity that will attract both local and international capital."
Ethiopis Tafara, Director of the SEC's Office of International Affairs, said, "We are honored to be invited to work with so many market leaders who, while facing many challenges, have the potential to grow transparent, high-quality capital markets that will ultimately serve to support infrastructure, create jobs, and reduce poverty. Our growing partnerships with African regulators will help us better protect our own market, as well as create new opportunities for all investors. Moreover, fostering high-quality capital and commodities markets can contribute to self-sustaining development among African nations."
The SEC's technical assistance training program consists of bilateral and regional training programs, assessments, consultations, and review and comment on statutory and regulatory initiatives.
For more information on the SEC's technical assistance program, contact Dr. Robert M. Fisher or Z. Scott Birdwell in the Office of International Affairs at 202-551-6690 or OIA@SEC.gov.
Source: SEC.gov
