Intervju med Zimbabwes finansminister

av TOR BILLGREN

Magasinet Monocles februarinummer innehåller en bra intervju med Zimbabwes finansminister, Tendai Biti, som är en av grundarna av MDC-partiet. Han har tjänstgjort i landets koalitionsregering sedan februari 2009. Steve Bloomfield intervjuar.

Några godbitar:

Has anything surprised you about the job so far?
It's a mad house. It's a real mad house. I ran an extremely busy law practice but it's nothing compared to this. It's like you're in a sewer. Drowning in a sewer. This job is not academic. People are dying, people are starving. There is no employment, inflation was high. Whatever you do is touching the life of every single individual in Zimbabwe.

[...]

When you have 500 billion per cent inflation, when you have 95 per cent unemployment, there is an element of saying "yes, you guys failed".

Men han är också positiv till president Mugabe som person om ledare:

He's the president of the country so on key issues you have to go to him. I'm fixing his mess. I've no problem with him. I find him very receptive. He listens. We debate. He has got a mind. It's refreshing to go there and argue a case. He is open to persuasion.