THE FIRST high-level EU delegation to visit Zimbabwe since sanctions were imposed against its government in 2002 will arrive in Harare today to urge President Robert Mugabe to fully implement the country’s powersharing deal.
The two-day visit will be led by Swedish development minister Gunilla Carlsson and EU development commissioner Karel De Gucht, both of whom are in South Africa this week meeting President Jacob Zuma and his administration.
In addition to meeting Mr Mugabe, the delegation is expected to talk with prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), to discuss the agreement’s outstanding issues. The MDC leader blames the Global Political Agreement’s slow implementation on senior members of Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, who he says are dragging their heels to hang on to power.
The EU visit to Zimbabwe would appear to mark the beginning of a thaw in relations between European countries and Mr Mugabe and his allies.
The EU and US have imposed sanctions against Mr Mugabe and over 200 of his supporters in response to his authoritarian rule and the human rights abuses his regime has carried out since his land reform programme began in 2000. Some 203 people have been banned from travelling to Europe and the US, and their bank accounts and assets have been frozen, as have those of 40 companies with links to Zanu-PF.
Southern African leaders have recently called on western governments to lift their sanctions, saying the transitional government needed the concession to progress further. However, Mr De Gucht told reporters yesterday they would be unlikely to be lifted as a result of this weekend’s talks.
“There is an urgent need for all parties to fulfil their obligations,” Mr De Gucht said. “By doing this, the EU can once again fully re-engage with Zimbabwe and help the country on its return to normality and prosperity by resuming our development co-operation in full.”
The EU is critical of Mr Mugabe’s unilateral appointments of the new attorney-general and the head of Zimbabwe’s reserve bank, a man accused of crippling the economy. To date, the EU has refused to provide direct financial assistance, saying human rights, the rule of law and the deal’s outstanding elements needed to addressed first. But aid amounting to roughly €90 million a year continues to be sent to Zimbabwe.