After a Friday (12 June 2009) afternoon meeting with the President Barack Obama, Morgan Tsvangirai received the US Presidents seal of approval and $73 million dollars to go towards education, health and governance. The $73 million is a few million shy of what the Zimbabwean Prime Minister was hoping to have received. Nonetheless, Tsvangirai was able to reach out and get a positive response from the west which is something Mugabe would not be able to do with his attitude towards them and the asset freezes and travels bans he is subject to.
The fact that the West is warmly welcoming Tsvangirai is a positive sign for what the future holds for Zimbabwe if his efforts are not hampered by Mugabe. Obama mentioned that the aid pledeged by the US government would not be channelled through the Zimbabwean government and would go directly to the people. This was a very good move on their part because the Mugabe government has been known to use such funds for their own purposes.
Despite the progress made so far in mending relations between the West and Zimbabwe, one thing that will continue to stay are the sanctions directed towards Mugabe and his aides. A number of commentators argue that the sanctions need to be removed in order to revive industry and thus create jobs. They argue that yes, a number of companies may be run by individuals with close ties to Mugabe but at least they provide people with gainful employment to allow them to feed their families.
Whatever the case may be, the hope is progress continues to move in positive direction for the people of Zimbabwe.
Watch the video of part of their meeting below:
I have to choose my words well here… This is positive news and I am cautiously optimistic.
Hi Emm,
You have said it all yourself in a few words. All we can do is be "cautiously optimistic" and hope for the best.