Cost of the DRC intervention

Meanwhile, 'The Financial Gazette' reported on Thursday that Zimbabwe had spent the equivalent of US $12.5 million on its military intervention in the Democratic republic of Congo (DRC). It said the intervention backing President Laurent Desire Kabila was costing US $1.7 million a month and that the money already spent was twice the annual budget of the foreign ministry. The newspaper said most Zimbabweans were opposed to the intervention for which more than 6,000 troops had been committed with aircraft and heavy armour. This it said was one of the main reasons why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was withholding US $53 million in crucial balance-of-payments support. It quoted Mugabe as telling a news conference the IMF was a "monstrous creature" manipulated by Washington and London.