The United States of America (USA) has reiterated the need for the Zimbabwean government to uphold open, accountable, and democratic governance and to fight corruption to ensure national prosperity.
These remarks were made by Elaine French, the US Embassy in Harare Chargé d’Affaires, in an interview on The Breakfast Club hosted on Asakhe Online.
French reiterated that the USA is a committed and steadfast partner to the people of Zimbabwe, implementing various exchange, development, and diplomacy programs.
“Our policy has not changed when it comes to the US policy towards Zimbabwe. We continue to urge the government to take concrete steps in terms of open, accountable, and democratic governance. We continue to urge them to tackle corruption issues in the country so that all Zimbabweans can prosper in Zimbabwe. We are focused on the issue of prosperity for the people of Zimbabwe,” she said.
“This year, the US has committed an additional $209 million to support 230,000 of the most vulnerable people in the country facing drought and the lean season, helping them bridge the gap between their harvests. This year, like in recent years, we also have plenty of Zimbabweans participating in exchange programs in the US. These programs range from high school to mid-career professionals, so it’s part of the reason why we are here.”
French highlighted that one of the main areas where they have worked with the local government is in the African Development Bank facilitated dialogue, which, however, is on hold owing to the issues raised from the outcome of the August 2023 elections.
“The dialogue began in December 2022. We have stayed committed to engaging in that dialogue. We have worked with other partners and stakeholders to ensure that key economic, governance, and land reforms are highlighted. We think that is the best opportunity for the government to take on those land reforms,” she noted.
“But I will highlight that the US paused our participation in that dialogue a few months ago based on the outcome of the August 2023 Presidential election. We felt that they fell short of regional and international standards, and so we are looking into the government and others that have called for an assessment for that to be completed. So that we can assess where we go from here and what reforms are the next steps for the government so that we can come back to the dialogue and really work with partners in the government to make real progress.”
In March, the US government removed the US-Zimbabwe sanctions program. It imposed the Global Magnitsky sanctions on 11 individuals including President Mnangagwa and his wife and three entities.
