Washington, D.C. — MEMBERS of the Zimbabwe delegation touring Western countries to lobby for the removal of illegal sanctions have hit out at United States President Barack Obama for his "overt bias" against Zanu-PF.
President Obama snubbed Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi and excluded him from any formal discussions when he met head of delegation Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai here last Friday.
Furthermore, the White House then barred the media from asking the Zimbabwe delegation any questions after the meeting even though it had earlier been announced that a question and answer session with the Press would follow the discussions.
"We were surprised when people from the Protocol Department informed us that Minister Mzembi would not be part of the White House visit. No explanation was given for leaving him out.
"It gives rise to the unfortunate impression that President Obama is openly biased against Zanu-PF because he can't even talk to a minister from that party even though he is representing all Zimbabweans.
"The oddity of this gesture was more so because earlier Minister Mzembi had audience with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton," said one of the members of the delegation.
When asked about this matter, Minister Mzembi expressed concern about how "overtly biased" this made President Obama look.
He said the existence of an inclusive Government involving Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations should have invalidated any misconceptions the US leader had about the political situation in Zimbabwe.
However, Minister Mzembi stressed the importance of not letting President Obama's lack of diplomatic courtesy divert attention from the short and long-term goals of the delegation's visit to Washington.
He said they would continue to strive to re-establish cordial ties with the US with the lifting of the illegal sanctions being the ultimate goal.
Minister Mzembi said he would leave it to President Mugabe and PM Tsvangirai to discuss President Obama's behaviour and its implications on the attempt to re-engage the West.
There were also concerns in the delegation about the manner in which President Obama referred to a "partnership with Prime Minister Tsvangirai" instead of with the Government of Zimbabwe.
"The fact is President Mugabe is the Head of State and Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. There is no way any re-engagement between the two countries can take place while they try and exclude him in such a manner," a member of the delegation said.
This is not the first time that the Obama administration has sidelined Zimbabwe Government officials it feels are aligned to Zanu-PF from formal deliberations.
When Finance Minister Tendai Biti visited Europe and America earlier this year, officials from Zimbabwe's Embassy in Washington were excluded from the meetings with US government representatives.
Yesterday, our sister paper The Sunday Mail reported that some members of the delegation were increasingly becoming uneasy about the manner in which they were being excluded from the PM's meetings.
The paper also reported that financial assistance from Washington would be directed to civic bodies that have ties to MDC-T and not to the Government of Zimba-bwe.
President Obama announced after his meeting with PM Tsvangirai that his government would be giving US$73 million to the selected non-governmental organisations.
Earlier on Friday, the Corporate Council on Africa, a grouping of 180 US companies that account for 85 percent of American private sector investment in Africa, said it would not be investing in Zimbabwe until it saw more "reforms".
This came after the US Senate had already passed a resolution to maintain the George W. Bush era sanctions that the Obama administration extended in March this year.
PM Tsvangirai has already visited the Netherlands -- where he came out empty-handed -- and is due to travel to France, Britain, Sweden and Belgium as well.
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Va Mzembi you have been all over the world for over 30 years with no achievement. I am sure you will now find life much easier at home where you receive praise, ulullation and empty slogans from your confused supporters. Avoid the overt bias.
I would have thought that Prime Minister Tsvangirai, as has become his tradition, would have boycotted the meeting with Obama after one of his delegation members was barred. If one starts anything one should always be consistent so that it does not look like one is flip-flopping.
Tsvangirai boycotted a dinner at State House when one of his unregistered cars was barred from entering the premises but now when a whole minister in his government is barred from the Oval Office he chose to continue with the meeting. WHY?
This shows that MDC might have had a hand in having Mzembi barred. What stops us from thinking that MDC is still providing names of those to remain on the sanctions list? To make matters worse the money promised to Tsvangirai, as has always been the case since 1999 when the MDC was formed, is going to be channeled through MDC structures.
If this trend continues it can safely be inferred that the trip, at taxpayers' expense, is to fund raise for the MDC and not for Government. Tsvangirai should object to this kind of biasness if he wants to be seen as a Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and not of MDC.
There is no way that the MDC structures that are to receive this money will channel it to all the people of Zimbabwe. Only MDC-T supporters will benefit.
Grasping at straws again Takky. Obama simply doesnt want to be associated with criminals, and thats why the ZANU PF members werent allowed. And fair enough too.
As for the money going the MDC supporters... who says? I'm sure Tsvangirai will simply ensure it will go to the places it is required most. If that is MDC suporters, then so be it... chances are it will be after the last 30 years of ZANU PF cronies stealing all the funds and distributing them amongst their own...
Tukunya as usual like Mzembi you always hit a brickwall.
President's Obama's exclusion of the Zanu-PF part of the delegation is normal and should be lauded!
Having fooled the AU and SADC, Zanu-PF, naively, expects to continue using the willing MDC as its Trojan Horse back into the Western coffers! They should not be allowed to succeed in anyway. The so-called unity government is a sham controlled by despotic Robert Mugabe and his cronies. Now that they're allowed to have tea and cookies in Zimbabwe's State House, Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti are allowing themselves to be used not only to protect Mugabe, but to also go around the world asking for money to maintain the dictator and his cronies in power, thus escaping justice for the hundreds of Human Rights abuses that have been committed under their watch, often at their command and execution.
Viva President Obama Viva!!!
Africa and the world finally have a US President who will see nonsense for what it is, who owes nothing to African despots, and who will stand for the truth and for Justice!
SM
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