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United States seeks to encourage democracy, growth in Zimbabwe
Stephen Kaufman, United States Department of State
June 15, 2009

President Obama welcomed Zimbabwe's prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, to the White House, praising the progress made "in very difficult circumstance" since he joined a unity government with political rival President Robert Mugabe.

Speaking after their June 12 meeting, Obama said Zimbabwe's power-sharing agreement "shows promise" and the United States is looking for ways to help Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwean people improve the country's democratic and economic future.

"We want to do everything we can to encourage the kinds of improvement not only on human rights and rule of law, freedom of the press and democracy that is so necessary, but also on the economic front," Obama said. "The people of Zimbabwe need very concrete things," such as having their schools reopened, getting improved health care, and creating an agricultural system that can feed its people.

"On all these fronts I think the prime minister is committed to significant concrete improvement in the day-to-day lives of the people of Zimbabwe," the president said.

Obama said he has committed $73 million in assistance to Zimbabwe, but said it would not go directly to the government, which is led by Mugabe, "because we continue to be concerned about consolidating democracy, human rights and the rule of law."

Referring to the political violence and intimidation that plagued Zimbabwe for much of 2008, Obama said Mugabe "has not acted oftentimes in the best interest of the Zimbabwean people and has been resistant to the kinds of democratic changes that need to take place."

The president praised Tsvangirai and the provisional government for bringing inflation under control, and said Zimbabwe's industrial capacity is slowly beginning to recover. He added that the prime minister will continue to provide the United States with "direction in ways he thinks we can be helpful."

The prime minister told Obama that the power-sharing agreement is an effort to bring Zimbabwe out of its political and economic decay, but is still "a journey." "We want to institute those reforms that will ensure that in 18 months time, people of Zimbabwe are given an opportunity to elect their own government," he said.

He acknowledge that gaps still exist in implementing Zimbabwe's own benchmarks for reform, but said, "We will strive to implement those benchmarks, not because they are for the international community, but because for ourselves, it gives people of Zimbabwe freedom and opportunity to grow."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Tsvangirai at the State Department June 11 and praised him as "a longtime advocate" for Zimbabwe, particularly with regard to human rights and economic opportunity. Tsvangirai's unity government is "attempting to move Zimbabwe forward into a better future," and the United States is looking for ways "we appropriately can be supportive," Clinton said.

The prime minister also met with more than 120 U.S. private-sector and government leaders at a June 11 luncheon hosted by the nonprofit Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), which seeks to encourage business partnerships and opportunities between the United States and Africa.

According to a CCA statement, the organization told Tsvangirai that "before investing in Zimbabwe, most American companies will need to see a combination of political and economic reforms to create a sustainable investment climate." CCA President Stephen Hayes told a separate audience of Zimbabwean business leaders in Harare that American companies are looking forward to when Zimbabwe will be a "beacon of investment and a leader in addressing Africa's economic development needs."

In his remarks at the luncheon, Prime Minister Tsvangirai called for U.S. private-sector support for Zimbabwe's reconstruction, saying "Zimbabwe cannot do it alone." He said that over the past three months his government has "reduced inflation rates from 500 million percent to minus 3 percent, increased government accountability and addressed corruption," according to the CCA statement. He also said Zimbabwean authorities are working to establish the necessary stability and rule of law in the country that would protect private investments.

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