Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) SAfrica urges EU and US to help Zimbabwe

SAfrica urges EU and US to help Zimbabwe
Reuters/ZG
Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:37:00 +0000

THE European Union and the United States should help Zimbabwe develop its agriculture and attract investment rather than impose sanctions that have hurt the people, South Africa's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Washington and Brussels have imposed visa bans and asset freezes on President Robert Mugabe and other senior Zimbabwean officials. U.S. sanctions also bar Americans from engaging in any transactions or dealings with them.

"They (the sanctions) hurt the ordinary people ... if you have sanctions against the government then obviously investors will not want to deal with that government, tourists get frightened," Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in an interview.

"They hurt the people that deserve the help, they hurt the whole people," the South African minister told Reuters.

"The EU, the United States and other countries should begin to support the farmers to plant, to get fertilisers, to get business people to invest in Zimbabwe," Dlamini-Zuma said.

"It will help the people, they will get jobs, they will get money, they will be able to plant, they will be able to have food and not only to rely on aid," she added.

The European Commission proposed in July using 1 billion euros in unspent EU farm funds on a programme to buy seed and fertiliser for Africa this year and next, helping the continent to deal with threatened food shortages.

But the proposal has run into trouble as EU lawmakers and governments said the bloc's executive did not choose the right budgetary procedure.

"It is ridiculous to keep this fund in the air," Dlamini-Zuma said.

Zimbabweans had hoped a September 15 political deal would create a power-sharing leadership that could rescue the ruined economy. Instead, Zimbabwe's parties are deadlocked over allocating cabinet ministries.

Reuters/Zim Guardian

Labels: EU, NKOSAZANAA DLAMINI ZUMA, SANCTIONS, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 9:35 PM