A New Dawn in U.S. – Zimbabwe Relations

Obama comes to Zimbabwe’s Rescue with $73 million in Aid

Jun 15, 2009

Zimbabweans are beginning to see the fruits of Obama's inauguration promise. "We pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow ...."

It is no coincidence that the first fruits of President Barack Obama’s benevolence to Africa are going to Zimbabwe. This country in Obama’s words has gone through a “very dark and difficult period politically.” Zimbabwe is the modern version of the historical “sick man,” this time not of Europe, not even of Africa but of the world. This situation owes largely to the level of economic decay and political uncertainty in that southern African country which was once the breadbasket of Africa.

The U.S has been part of Zimbabwe’s history from the period of the anti-colonial struggle in the 1970s, through independence in 1980 to the period of radical land reforms after the 1990s. These controversial land reforms greatly altered or shaped Zimbabwe’s relations with the outside world.

U.S – Zimbabwe Relations before Obama

Before Obama, America’s blueprint for engagement with Zimbabwe was the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill (ZDB) which was passed in the U.S. Senate in 2000. This bill called for sanctions, a travel ban and the freezing of foreign assets belonging to President Robert Mugabe and other top officials of his government. It sought to deny Zimbabwe access to international loans and credits and called on Harare to respect existing titles to property.

ZDB was the product of tense relations between Washington and Harare following President Mugabe’s land seizures which the West saw as a violation of the “willing-seller, willing-buyer” clause of the Lancaster Constitution. Mugabe on his part accused the West, especially Britain and the U.S. of reneging on their promises to help finance land reforms in Zimbabwe. This state of hostility defined Zimbabwe’s relations with the U.S. until the rise of Obama.

Zimbabwe in Obama’s Agenda of Change

Change was the central theme in Obama’s campaign message to the American electorate. Africa understood the meaning of this change when Obama made a direct appeal to the poor nations of the world during his inaugural speech. “We pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.” It does not require much research to know that Obama was talking to the masses of Zimbabwe and by extension, other parts of Africa.

There is little doubt therefore that President Obama’s pledge of $73 million to Zimbabwe is a fulfillment of this promise to come to Zimbabwe’s rescue by “consolidating democracy, human rights and the rule of law.” Obama is among the few western leaders to applaud Zimbabwe’s new Government of National Unity. “We now have a power-sharing government that shows promise,” he said while receiving Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangarai in Washington on June 11, 2009.

These signs of promise notwithstanding, Obama did not hesitate to point out Mugabe’s contribution to Zimbabwe’s current woes. “President 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.” This is the situation which former South African President Nelson Mandela had earlier described as “a tragic failure of leadership in Africa.”

Significance of Obama’s Benevolence to Zimbabwe

President Obama’s assistance to Zimbabwe as little as it is, is very significant in many ways. Though it stands far below the estimated $10 million required to rebuild Zimbabwe’s economy, this assistance marks a new dawn in relations between the U.S. and Zimbabwe. “Of course we need billions of U.S. dollars but as far as we are concerned, this is the step in the right direction,” said Tsvangarai.

Though U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe remain in place, Obama’s gesture to inflation-ridden Zimbabwe is a new experiment with Mugabe who has resisted all other imaginable forms of pressure. “… we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist,” Obama had promised at his inaugural ceremony. It is time enough to end the suffering of Zimbabwe’s masses by trying to unclench Mugabe’s fist peacefully.

It remains to be seen how much fruit Obama’s new diplomacy will bear. But it is also very evident that the old diplomacy of sanctions, threats and verbal exchanges have failed and Zimbabweans have gone through a long and painful period of suffering. Mr. Tsvangarai who alone enjoys respect among western leaders has called on all donors to judge Zimbabwe’s new coalition government by what it has done and not by the country’s abusive past.

Lachlan Carmichael. “Obama announces 73 million dlrs in US aid to Zimbabwe,” The Age, June 13, 2009.

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