On a press conference in Harare yesterday, the Vice President of the African Development Bank, Mr. Aloysius Uche Ordo, said they were ready to assist Zimbabwe to clear its debt.

According to the daily newspaper The Herald, Ordo said that Zimbabwe's debt arrears are burdensome, and needs to be cleared before growth can be achieved. AfDB recommends Zimbabwe to take the HIPC route, something it is divided opinions about within the Government as well as from civil society. Within the first quarter of 2010 the Government will come up with a homegrown debt repayment plan, according to Finance Minister Tendai Biti, "not suggested by any institution, but using what we can get from our own resources and based on our own terms."

Read more here: http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=14484&cat=1

Read about civil society reactions to HIPC in Zim: http://allafrica.com/stories/200911030293.html