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Harare — Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin with the German government pledging to offer Zimbabwe 20 million euros and to support small-scale farmers, though Berlin remained silent on sanctions.
The Prime Minister is on a six-nation tour of Western capitals, with a brief from President Mugabe and Cabinet, to call for the lifting of sanctions and extension of financial assistance.
The money from German will be channelled through the World Bank.
Media reports quoted Chancellor Merkel as underscoring the need "to strengthen democratic structures".
AFP quoted her as saying: "We want to help in this process. But it is important that we get a feeling as to how good progress is."
Chancellor Merkel, who highlighted the need to amend the Constitution, is said to have called for the reversal of the land reform programme even though the three parties to the inclusive Government have upheld the irreversibility of the agrarian reforms.
Zimbabwe has already kick-started the constitution-making process along with other reforms.
PM Tsvangirai later met German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, who announced the 20 million euro package to Zimbabwe along with five million euros for seed and fertilizer for small-scale farmers.
PM Tsvangirai assured the Germans that Zimbabwe was changing for the better.
Last week PM Tsvangirai met US President Barrack Obama in Washington.
President Obama promised to give Zimbabwe US$73 million, which will, however, not be channelled through the inclusive Government but via selected non-governmental organisations.
President Obama's administration had already indicated ahead of Friday's meeting with PM Tsvangirai that the US would not lift the economic sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe through the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act.
The Obama administration extended the sanctions, imposed by the previous George W, Bush administration.
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 invest in Zimbabwe until it saw more reforms.
This came after the US Senate had already passed a resolution to maintain the sanctions.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai has so far visited the Netherlands, the US and Germany.
The Dutch government turned down his request for the lifting of economic sanctions and provision of a financial package, saying they wanted to see "more reforms".
PM Tsvangirai is expected to visit Britain, France, Sweden and Belgium before concluding his tour.
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The Germans or any other former colonizers for that matter should be reminded that LAND will NEVER revert back to their kith and kin. We have liberated ourselves through direct confrontation and so will hold our fort and be able to bequeath to our children what rightfully belongs to them - LAND.
If Tsvangirai made the silly, stupid and unclever mistake of promising to return land to former colonizers - as did Fidelis Mhashu on BBC some time back - then he can rest be assured that he and his masters will be resisted with our blood. He will only be able to do that over our dead bodies; nothing short of genocide will see our ancestral lands being occupied again by invaders, NEVER EVER.
The confiscated land is in the possession of Mugabe's thugs. Ordinary Zimbos feel they have been robbed twice!!
Takunya,
You are like a broken record! No body wants to recolonise Zimbabwe, and as soon as you get out of the 1970's the better!
Its just an excuse for you to beat and torture your fellow zimbabweans, thats all. The MDC has never promised the return of any land to the west. Full stop. You can make up all the lies you want, but everyone sees straight through you and you look like a tool. So keep it up...
It is funny that Merkel should make such a statement when every year at the German Suddettentreffen all right-wing German party leaders (including Merkel) come to repeat that the confisticated German land in the Checz Republick should be returned to Germans or that negotiations should be opened. It is good to note that the German land was taken for starting WW 2 yet Zimbabwean land was taken only because black people did not count. Now, the same person, Merkel, will speak to her follow Germans, the Suddetten and say the land question needs to be addressed and yet turn around and say to Zimbabweans they should return the land to the confisticators - talk about a forked tongue! Now a question to all fellow ZImbabweans: is there enough money that Merkel can give us to cause us to give the sittlers our land; Our land that has gold and diamonds and many precious resources and lions and things? I think not but Merkel thinks we are stupid to take that bait. The whole hullabaloo about Zimbabwe in the West has ALWAYS been about land and not human rights and whatever they say. 70,000 people were affected by Operation Murambatsvina and no schools were destroyed. In Kenya, as we click, 230,000 people are being forcibly evicted by the Kenyan government. Do you read anything about it? Even junior Odinga is quiet yet he wanted to send Kenyan soldiers to Zim. Do you see that some Africans are born hoodwinked regardless of their heritage? Oh well, Merkel, No can do!!!
I just wonder how the Zimbabwe Service feel when they see their own brother being accorded such dignified guard of honour by renowned army generals of Germany.I think mugabe sent PM to inspect the Germany Army
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