Finance Minister Tendai Biti saw Under Secretary of State William Burns
and Mary Jo Wills, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for
African Affairs, as Washington weighs whether Zimbabwe’s new unity
government has implemented enough reforms for significant U.S. aid to
kick in.
"This meeting does not signal any kind of change. There are a number of
things we have to see yet," State Department spokesman Robert Wood told
Reuters before the meeting.
"We want to see how the government is making progress on democratic
reforms, economic reforms and then we will make a decision on whether
we want to provide significant development assistance," he added.
Wood said the U.S. government wanted to get a sense of the financial
situation in Zimbabwe and steps the government is taking to reverse the
free fall of the economy. Biti was in Washington for meetings of the
IMF and World Bank.
Zimbabwe’s economy is in ruins with hyperinflation and unemployment at
around 90 percent. Millions are in need of food and the country’s
infrastructure and institutions in shambles.
In a message to the Zimbabwean people last weekend, U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton commended the government for progress in
implementing reforms, but said more must be done.
U.S. officials say there are no immediate plans either to lift targeted
U.S. sanctions or give major aid until there is firm evidence that
President Robert Mugabe is serious about sharing power with opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The two formed a unity government in February following bitter
post-election feuding and a clampdown by Mugabe’s forces against the
opposition.
Mugabe has blamed his country’s economic collapse on Western sanctions
but the United States and others counter that the cause of financial
decline was his own mismanagement.
U.S. officials have praised Biti personally for his efforts so far but
have strong criticism for the country’s central bank governor, a close
ally of Mugabe.
The departure of the central bank governor would be seen as a strong
sign that Zimbabwe was serious about taking strong measures to turn
around the economy, said one official, who declined to be named as his
comments were sensitive.
yahoo.com/Reuters
Post published in: News