A two week deadline set by the Southern African Development Community for members of the regional grouping to make pledges to help rebuild Zimbabwe ran out Tuesday with only South Africa having announced a specific amount that it would provide Harare.At a summit in late March SADC members declared their support for
Zimbabwe’s efforts to raise the projected US$8.3 billion the country
needs to carry out its so-called Short-Term Economic Recovery Program
over the next two years.
South Africa said upon the summit’s close that it will contribute 800
million rand or around US$90 million to support the operation of the
national unity government that was installed in Zimbabwe in
mid-February and to provide credits to the commercial sector.
Government sources in Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia
and Angola told VOA they are still engaged in internal consultations,
but acknowledged it could be difficult for them to mobilize cash for
Zimbabwe amidst the general global economic downturn.
SADC sources said Zimbabwe’s best hope now lies with the European Union
and the United States despite declarations from both that they will
will not provide development aid until there is clear evidence of
reform in Harare on human rights and governance in particular.
South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said SADC
has dispatched teams of ministers to lobby for reconstruction funding
and the lifting of Western sanctions targeting President Robert Mugabe,
officials of his ZANU-PF party and associates.
Zambian Information Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha told reporter Blessing
Zulu of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Lusaka is keen to help but it
needs more time to consult.
Pretoria-based political analyst Peter Kagwanja said the SADC countries
– some of which are still in post-conflict mode – don’t have deep
enough pockets to bail out Zimbabwe.
VOA
Post published in: Agriculture