After paying public workers' salaries last week, the balance in cash-strapped Zimbabwe's government public account stood at just $US217.
Finance minister Tendai Biti made the admission to reporters in the capital Harare, adding that some workers had healthier bank balances than the country.
"The government finances are in paralysis state at the present moment. We are failing to meet our targets," he said.
Zimbabwe's economy went into freefall at the turn of the millennium after president Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms.
The move demolished investor confidence in the country, paralysed production, prompted international sanctions and scared off tourists.
After more than a decade - in which the country suffered hyper-inflation of
231 million per cent and infrastructure that crumbled as quickly as prices went up - the situation is now more stable.
But public finances remain a mess and local business battles against unstable electricity supplies, lack of liquidity and high labour costs.
TULIA.........UFUNZWE!