Observations by a United States congressional hearing on Zimbabwe are likely to deal a heavy blow to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-engagement hopes with the west after US senators accused the leader of not walking his talk on internal reforms.
The hearing was held on Thursday to have an understanding on the course the country is on with regards to the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018, which spells out conditions of reform for Zimbabwe to better its position with the US.
Republican U.S. Senator, Chris Coons, said despite notable changes from the previous regime, significant economic and political reforms are yet to be witnessed in the country.
“There is indeed a significantly more open society and economy than there was under (former President Robert) Mugabe, but it is significantly short of what a free, fair and open society looks like, where rule of law dominates, where elections and opposition, elections happen regularly, opposition is free to speak, where press is truly unhindered,” Coons said.
“If you read a transcript of our meeting with President Mnangagwa, if you read transcripts of his speeches, if you read the editorial he wrote in the New York Times, he’s saying all the right things. Our challenge is the doing,”
Outgoing Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, a top architect in the revised bill, reiterated Coons’ sentiments saying the country lacks strong economic and political reforms slamming continued harassment of opposition leaders.
MDC Alliance Principal Tendai Biti’s harassment was identified as such an incident.
“President Mnangagwa has largely been saying the right things, but some of the reforms however, have been slow to come. Zimbabwe may be open for business as is the slogan now, but foreign direct investment has not flowed into the country as many are still weary of the investment climate there,” Flake said.
“Zimbabwe’s economy has gone from bad to worse, leaving many with no access to cash. Opposition figures and their families continue to be harassed at times.”
Zimbabwe has been under US sanctions for over a decade after former President Robert Mugabe’s government embarked on a controversial land reform program, which saw white farmers being kicked off their farms.
US President Donald Trump in August renewed sanctions under ZIDERA, calling for political reforms and the rule of law by the new administration.
Government critiques have said it seems not to be keen on re-engagement as it is failing to implement simple reforms expressed in ZIDERA.
SADC recently called on the review of sanction on Zimbabwe as they were hurting the landlocked country and also posing a threat to the region.
