Zimbabwe Misses US-Africa Leaders Summit and Still Remains Unapologetic

 

From its exclusion, albeit voluntarily from the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings to the recently concluded US – Africa leaders’ summit in which over 50 heads of African states were invited in Washington DC, Zimbabwe has been like a black sheep missing out on such key events. Certainly, these and such other international gatherings are not make or break events, whose failure to attend would spell doom for countries. The State run media in Zimbabwe, certainly made this clear as it published an article that branded the August 4 to 6 event as, “President Obama`s speed dating exercise.” In it, the argument is made that it is inconceivable how anything significant will be achieved in a mere 3 days, when the Obama administration has ignored Africa for 5 years. The summit is viewed just as a talk shop and a series of lectures by Barack Obama, in which African leaders hold no sway.

It's just that at a time when Zimbabwe has been pushing a re-engagement agenda with several international development partners, it would stand to reason that the powers that be in Harare would push to be involved in such initiatives. However, in an official statement released by the United States government prior to the summit, leaders of 5 countries “not in good standing with the United States of America” were not invited to participate in the summit. The list included some of the usual suspects like Sudan`s Omar al-Bashir and Eritrea`s Isaias Afewerki. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Ernest Bai Koroma Presidents of Liberia and Sierra Leone respectively, chose to stay home and deal with the Ebola outbreaks in their countries. 

Zimbabwe has grown highly suspicious of western countries over the years, with both the United States of America and Britain seen as proxies for all Western nations. Hence Harare’s foreign policy has been focused more on China and other Asian nations, in what is known as the “Look-East Policy.” Following close to a decade of economic stagnation, Zimbabwe is desperate to secure funding which could act as a stimulus to the country`s much needed growth and development. Surely then, it would not make much of a difference where this funding most likely in the form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) would come from, one would imagine. With the US Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker promising that at least USD$ 900 million worth of deals would be signed at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, Zimbabwe could have done with a bite of this sizeable investment pie. Yet, it is once again missing out.

But perhaps even more worrying, is the fact that the supposed alternative to western funding-China, has not really come to the party in the grandiose manner people would have hoped for. Earlier this year, Zimbabwe`s Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa headed to the Far East, in an attempt to secure investment funding from the country`s Asian ‘brothers’. Unsurprisingly, he returned empty handed, as the Chinese closed their eyes on his begging bowl, citing that there were not enough ‘bankable’ projects that tickled their fancy in Zimbabwe. The country after all, has a law demanding that foreigners cede 51% of their equity in exchange for mineral rights. In fact the relationship between the many Chinese businessmen in Zimbabwe and the locals is an uneasy one, especially considering several reports of exploitation, low pay and generally poor working conditions Zimbabwean workers have suffered at the hands of Chinese businessmen. What then is coming out of the much vaunted ‘Look East Policy’ being favoured at the expense of interaction with the West?

It isn’t just the US-Africa Leaders Summit that Zimbabwe has missed out on. President Robert Mugabe had in April of this year, been invited to attend the EU-Africa Summit in Brussels. A few days before his departure, it was revealed that his wife Grace Mugabe (set to enter active politics as head of ZANU PFs Women’s League) had been denied a Visa to attend the meeting, as there would not be a programme for First Ladies. Interestingly, the government saw it fit to boycott the whole event, accusing the European Union of being a bully.  Again, the usual suspects Eritrea and Sudan missed the summit as well. Though South African President Jacob Zuma and former Malawi President Dr Joyce Banda missed the summit, they had never intended to travel from the onset as the two had impending national elections in a matter of weeks from the summit. As the country continually misses out on these international gatherings, the cost on Zimbabwe`s economy in the way of foregone investments could be potentially significant. This becomes clear, when one considers the nearly $17 billion in investment pledges reached at the recent summit.

One gets a sense of policy inconsistency from the ruling Zanu PF concerning the re-engagement efforts being pursued by Harare. The country`s ruling party says the America-Africa summit which in its view is aimed at promoting the United States` economic, military and security ambitions has nothing for the ordinary people of Africa. Rugare Gumbo, the Zanu PF secretary for Information and Publicity went on to describe the summit, as a “poor imitation of the China-Africa summit which has brought immense benefits to African countries.” Yet, in May of this year at a seminar organised by a local NGO SAPES Trust, Mr Chinamasa reiterated the country`s desire to “look for new friendships whilst consolidating old ones.” He further stressed how Zimbabwe does not need politics of confrontation anymore. With this discord in simple policy direction by Zimbabwe`s ruling party, most Zimbabweans have been held at ransom. Most foreign investors have shied away from pouring money into the country citing policy inconsistency as a major reason.

Just how long will Zimbabwe continue to miss out on these crucial international meetings where it could stand to gain economically, by strengthening ties with development partners? And how is the ordinary person walking the streets of Bulawayo and Harare impacted by the government`s continued defiance to pursue a political brand of confrontation. As the world grows into one large global village, what could it stand to gain by ostensibly distancing itself from the West?

Yet all this isolation is based on flawed democratic processes, and poor human rights records, and somewhat lack of respect of the rule of law that has alienated President Mugabe`s government with the West. The question still remains however, if enough is being done to repair these broken ties with Western nations, particularly now that the Zimbabwean economy is at a precipice, and needs all the help it can get? As most citizens feel it would be in Zimbabwe`s best interests to be involved in these international gatherings, the ruling Zanu PF still remains defiant, having mistrust of America`s and other Western nations` intentions on the continent.