USAID Won't Stop Providing Aid To Zimbabweans Despite Accusations Of Political Meddling

Despite the Zimbabwean government’s summoning of the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Harare for alleged political meddling, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said it will continue to provide aid to Zimbabweans.

Ramses Gauthier, the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Agency for International Development in Zimbabwe, said his organisation would not stop aiding people in the southern African country despite the government’s actions. Gauthier said:

Our commitment is toward Zimbabwean people, and it’s a longstanding one. We have been standing by the Zimbabwean people since 1980, and we have invested billions of dollars. We may have disagreements, but we are not enemies, and Zimbabwean people are our friends. So, whatever we do, we do it with a sentiment of friendship toward the Zimbabwean people. And disagreement or not, we will continue to stand by the Zimbabwean people.

The government had called in Elaine French to protest against social media advertisements that encouraged citizens to vote and cast their ballots peacefully, which a Zimbabwean official claimed bordered on illegal activism. However, Ramses Gauthier stressed that their commitment is towards the Zimbabwean people and that they have been standing by them since 1980. He added that whatever they do, they do it with a sentiment of friendship towards the Zimbabwean people.

The U.S. Embassy spokesperson, Meg Riggs, defended the social media posts and said that they stand by their neutral, apolitical messages calling for peace during the election season. She also reiterated that the United States does not back any political candidate or party in Zimbabwe but supports a peaceful and transparent election process that reflects the will of the people of Zimbabwe. One Twitter message said:

Register to vote and make sure your voice is heard.

Alexander Rusero, who is the head of the International Relations Studies Department at Africa University in Zimbabwe, thinks that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was right to summon the U.S. diplomat. Rusero believes that the United States should not act as though they are political actors and that there needs to be rationality in handling Zimbabwe’s issues.

Lovemore Madhuku, a law professor at the University of Zimbabwe, disagrees with Rusero. Madhuku thinks that the U.S. Embassy is not seriously interfering with the election processes by encouraging people to register to vote or vote without telling them who to vote for. Madhuku believes that there is no reason for Zimbabwe’s government to be uncomfortable with an open electoral playing field.

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