‘More needs to be done before elections’

By The NewsDay | Feb. 26, 2013 | 5 Min read

THE European Union (EU) met last Monday in Brussels and removed six ministers from the sanctions list.

It also indicated that it would fully lift the embargoes subject to Zimbabwe holding credible elections.

A key ally of the EU, Australia, currently chairs the Fishmongers Group made up of Western donors, the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Canada and Australia, in Zimbabwe.

NewsDay (ND) Editor Constantine Chimakure last week caught up with Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Matthew Neuhaus (MN) in Harare to discuss the sanctions issue, political and economic developments in the country, among other issues.

Below are excerpts of the interview.

ND: As the chairperson of the Fishmongers in Harare, can you give us an assessment of the political developments in Zimbabwe? MN: As a major donor government to Zimbabwe, we are encouraged by the conclusion of a new draft constitution and the move down the track to a referendum and eventual elections in line with the GPA and agreement between the parties. We also strongly support the calls from the President and political leaders for peace and hope to see a free, fair, peaceful and credible referendum and elections.

But we are worried by the harassment of NGOs and others who are working to promote transparency and citizens understanding of their rights as voters in what appears to be heavy handed actions by police.

This is a concern. A greater sensitisation of police leadership and those directing them so that all the police work to support a peaceful and open environment in which all parties and organisations can freely campaign and advance their differing policies and points of view through multimedia, mobile phones, in the newspapers and over the air without fear of harassment is still clearly an issue.

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We have issued a statement with the EU on this.

ND: What led to the easing of the Australian and the EU sanctions? MN: Progress on the roadmap to the elections, evidenced by the agreement by all parties on the constitution and move now to a referendum.

Also the improved political environment and more reasonable behaviour by some key political actors. If we see a backtracking and return to political violence, such measures could still be re-imposed on the individuals involved. But we trust that will not be necessary.

ND: There are concerns that you rushed to lift the sanctions when the country has not turned around the corner in terms of media, legislative and security reforms. What do you say? MN: After so many years it is hardly a rush. In fact, the pace of reform has been far too slow. Indeed there are still many reforms needed, including freeing of media space and licensing of a wide range of independent radio stations, equal time on the public broadcaster to all political parties, the repeal of the Public Order and Security Act (a hangover from colonial and Rhodesian times!), and the greater professionalisation of the security forces, which should be totally apolitical.

But as progress is made, we want to encourage further progress and that is why we are taking these actions, especially as Sadc and the internal political parties are telling us this will help.

ND: The Australian government is part of the Fishmongers Group. What is the feeling of the group on the sanctions? MN: Ideally we would like the conditions to be such in Zimbabwe that we could remove all sanctions. We don’t like sanctions either.

ND: Does the draft constitution fit the bill of best practice? What do you think are the positives in the draft? MN: The draft constitution is probably as good as you can get in the current circumstances. But it is not a perfect document and there are internal contradictions. For example, why does it abolish the death penalty for women but not men, while enshrining gender equality?

ND: If Zimbabweans vote in the affirmative for the draft constitution, do you think Zimbabwe would be ready for elections? MN: No. There is a lot more to be done before the country is ready for elections. Laws have to be harmonised with the new Constitution; the voters’ roll has to be revised and cleaned to add new voters and remove dead voters; parties need to have time to campaign and freely advocate their policies; media needs to be much freer; observers both internal and external need to be organised, funded and trained; and a conducive environment needs to be created throughout the whole country so voters can vote with a sense of total security and complete absence of fear and intimidation.

ND: If President Mugabe and Zanu PF win, will Australia recognise his government or do you want regime change? MN: If that is the result of a free, fair, peaceful and credible election in which all parties can campaign freely and with equal access to resources and media space, and the count is concluded transparently and openly without any tampering or mischief, the answer to that is yes. We respect the people’s will. Change in politics is normal and there is nothing wrong with that. But it is the people’s will that matters not the views of external actors. If the people of Zimbabwe like things as they are, that is their choice.

ND: What are the negatives Zimbabwe should address? MN: I have (already) discussed politics. But the biggest negative currently is economic. Zimbabwe needs massive investment to get moving again. Tragically, it’s economic policies over the last 15 years have destroyed local industry, deeply damaged its agricultural base and chased away foreign investment.

As a result, its social services, health and education especially, have declined dramatically and the children of Zimbabwe in particular have suffered greatly. It is time to turn this around and work with the internal business community and external partners to pursue sound economic policies, reward effort with profit, and get things moving again. And as countries like Australia have discovered, a prosperous future in a globalised world depends on policies which promote internationalisation, not indigenisation.

ND: Give us an update on Australia’s development assistance to Zimbabwe MN: Australia, with its many responsibilities in the Pacific and Asia, is historically not a big donor to Africa. But since the establishment of the inclusive government under the Global Political Agreement, Zimbabwe has been Australia’s biggest country programme in Africa, directed at helping the nation recover from the past in the areas of greatest need.

Australia has provided well over $230 million in assistance. This includes assistance to Water and Sanitation rehabilitation (WASH) and power totalling $118 million, including the recently announced $30 million for WASH and $20 million to the Zimfund with the Africa Development Bank for power generation rehabilitation.

We have also provided $80 million to food security and agri-business development; $17 million to governance, including $2 million through UNDP to the constitution-making process and $2 million through the UN to the census; $7 million for health; $2,5 million for education and $8,5 million to other activities, including NGOs.