As Prepared For Delivery

“Just over a year ago, this Subcommittee held a hearing on the crisis in Zimbabwe.  That hearing came amidst months of intense violence carried out by Robert Mugabe and his allies against the opposition MDC’s members, supporters and families.  This was a deliberate campaign to hold onto power and subvert the will of the people expressed in the March 29th elections.

“Today, the situation in Zimbabwe looks different, at least on the surface.  Last September, with South Africa’s mediation, the parties signed the ‘Global Political Agreement’ and committed to form a transitional government.  And after five months of delays, this February, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister and the MDC assumed control of several ministries.  This came just as Zimbabwe’s economy reached a low point with world-record inflation and millions of people at risk of starvation. 

“The transitional government, under the leadership of the new Minister of Finance from MDC, has been able to stop that economic decline and taken initial steps to reverse it.  It has stabilized the situation in other respects as well.  However, eight months on, many aspects of the Global Political Agreement are still not implemented, beginning with the appointment of new provincial governors and the replacement of the Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General.  Moreover, security forces continue to operate as instruments of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, condoning land takeovers and harassing MDC and civil society activists.

“At every turn thus far, hardliners in the transitional government have resisted moves that would undermine their historic patronage system and power structures.  And for the most part, they appear to be succeeding.  Reformers in the government are working hard to overcome that resistance, but in many cases they lack leverage as well as the qualified personnel and resources.  In short, Zimbabwe’s transition remains a work in progress, incomplete and far from irreversible.

“This brings us to today’s discussion: U.S. strategy and policy options toward that transition.  Unsurprisingly, Mugabe has increased his calls for the removal of U.S. and European Union sanctions.  Regional leaders have echoed that call and made it the focus of their resolution on Zimbabwe at the SADC summit earlier this month.  I would understand and even be sympathetic to their position if there was real progress being made toward implementing the Global Political Agreement.  But no one believes that.  Rather than deflecting responsibility, regional leaders should step up and hold Mugabe accountable for implementing his share of the agreement.  They signed on as guarantors of the agreement and they should live up to that responsibility.

“Let me be clear: I see no reason for the U.S. to repeal sanctions until we see real, irreversible progress and an end to widespread abuses.

“However, this does not mean that our hands are tied and the U.S. should be on the sidelines.  A strict wait-and-see approach is arguably not the best way to influence this transition or keep the pressure on Mugabe and company.  There are a number of actions that the United States can take now – both symbolic and substantive – to engage the government and help strengthen the hand of reformers within it.  And at the same time, there may be ways that we can ramp up the pressure on those individuals obstructing the agreement and perpetrating continuing abuses.  We need to explore all these options and move beyond the all-or-nothing debate that seems to have frozen U.S. policy.  That debate is out of touch with the fluidity of this transition as well as the dynamism of our diplomats.

“Similarly, with our assistance, we should look at how we can best keep up with and influence the changing situation on the ground.  I was pleased that President Obama pledged $73 million in new funds for education, health and livelihoods when he met with Prime Minister Tsvangirai earlier this year.  Scaling up and shifting our assistance in Zimbabwe to help rebuild institutions and lay the groundwork for economic recovery makes practical sense.  It is also another way in which we can strengthen the hand of reformers within the transition.  But in order to have that positive effect, this new assistance needs to be well designed and well targeted, and it needs to be coordinated with our diplomatic efforts.  Today’s hearing will explore how the U.S. can best leverage our assistance together with our diplomacy toward advancing the political transition.”