CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Zimbabwe's political and business leaders made an impassioned appeal for an end to sanctions and more international investment Friday, hours ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Barack Obama."Sanctions in this juncture in our history are meaningless," said Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara. "Help us help ourselves by removing all those sanctions so Zimbabwe can have a fresh start," Mutambara told the World Economic Forum on Africa, currently held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mutambara followed former opposition leader Tsvangirai into a unity government in February, hoping to weaken the authority of longtime President Robert Mugabe.Tsvangirai is touring Western countries in a bid to persuade them to end sanctions and provide vitally needed aid to kick start Zimbabwe's battered economy.
But he faces an uphill struggle because of international mistrust of Mugabe, who still seems reluctant to loosen his grip on power and embrace market reforms.Zimbabwe's cash-strapped African neighbors have failed to respond to its pleas for a $2 billion economic rescue package. Investors from South Africa — the continent's richest country — are waiting for the implementation of a new bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement before they move in.
"Zimbabwe doesn't have the luxury of time on its side," warned South African deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.Finance Minister Tendai Biti — who belongs to Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change — said he was determined to overhaul the country's central bank.
Biti has clashed repeatedly with central bank governor Gideon Gono, who is a Mugabe ally, but has managed to push through key reforms, including ending Zimbabwe's hyperinflation and rampant black market by effectively replacing the worthless Zimbabwe dollar with the U.S. dollar.
* LA Times
