US pushes for fresh Zim elections

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USA govt is funding a parallel constitution-making and electoral reform agenda in Zimbabwe in preparation for fresh elections.

In his testimony before the Senate Sub-Committee on African Affairs on September 30, Usaid acting assistant administrator for Africa Earl Gast said they were also funding "democratic political parties" to rebuild their structures after some of their key members were co-opted into the inclusive Government.

Observers have said the revelations should be read within the context of the indication last week by MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai that their party was virtually preparing for fresh elections.

Speaking on Usaid’s interventions following the formation of the inclusive Government earlier this year, Gast said: "To help prepare for new elections, Usaid will help civil society pursue electoral law reform and provide training on parallel vote tabulation . . .

"Furthermore, Usaid will help democratic political parties rebuild their structures after the movement of many key members into Govern-ment service and further losses as a result of inter-election violence.

"If possible, assistance will also be extended to support the development and reform of electoral systems."

The Usaid official said all financial and technical assistance was being directed towards selected people in Government and non-governmental organisations.

Gast said donors were holding weekly meetings where they strategised on how best to advance their agenda through their allies in the inclusive Government and in civil society ahead of the elections.

He indicated that "humanitarian assistance" was a tool being used to advance Washington’s political interests.

"The consultation process includes all major donors present in Zimbabwe who meet on a weekly basis to review the operating environment, assess progress, discuss challenges, and modify a collective approach to providing assistance ensuring consistency between donor programmes.

"Consistent with the strongly unified position on the concept of ‘humanitarian plus’ of the donor community, Usaid’s programmes are centred around safeguarding the Zimbabwean people, supporting the transitional government’s ability to meet its commitments under the GPA and to respond to the needs of the people, and enhancing the likelihood of free and fair elections within two years."

He said the US, the United Kingdom, the European Commission, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Australia, Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands formed the core of the group of countries working in close co-ordination to influence political developments in Zimbabwe.

Gast indicated that in the event of the collapse of the inclusive Government, Usaid would "rapidly scale back our programmes to only support reformists outside the Government".

His presentation came soon after US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson told the same committee that the State Department was funding the operations of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Carson said Washington was funding Mr Tsvangirai’s activities as well as those of private media houses and civil society.

This has fuelled speculation that MDC-T’s announcement of a "partial disengagement" from the inclusive Government last week could be related to the US-led push for elections in Zimbabwe.

Admitting that he was ‘‘causing’’ a constitutional crisis — ostensibly over party treasurer Roy Bennett’s indictment on terror-related charges — Mr Tsvangirai on Friday indicated that they were ready for polls, even in the absence of the new constitution that they agitated for over the past decade.

He said: "Naturally should this constitutional crisis escalate, then the self-evident solution would be the holding of a free and fair election to be conducted by Sadc and the AU and under UN supervision."

Observers yesterday said the revelations by the US government officials should be read in line with the apparent slant by Mr Tsvangirai for a fresh poll eight months into the inclusive Government.

The US has not hidden the fact that it is opposed to MDC-T’s participation in the inclusive Government and has been angling for President Mugabe’s ouster whether by electoral or other means.

Under the GPA given the nod by Mr Tsvangirai and MDC leader Professor Arthur Mutambara, President Mugabe is the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.