US Ambassador Jim McGee has once again put his finger on the real reason why the GNU has achieved very little for all its bloated size and nearly five months in office – there is “no political will” to do anything. “Zanu-PF still has the ability to say ‘we will do what we want’, and there’s nothing the MDC can do about it,” the Ambassador said. And MDC on the other hand does not “have enough clout in government to push for more reforms”.
The Ambassador reiterated America’s position – targeted sanctions will remain and America will not give any financial assistance to the Zimbabwe government until there is progress in democratic reforms. The good Ambassador is only restating what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama said to PM Tsvangirai to his face. They were all repeating what America has been saying all along.
A “full term” report of what PM Tsvangirai’s three-week trip “to re-engage” the West did or did not achieve. Consider this to be a “half term” report. The Americans told Tsvangirai what they have been saying all along. PM Tsvangirai’s trip to America achieved absolutely nothing; it was a complete waste of time and resources!
Ambassador McGee would be living Zimbabwe soon at the end of his tour of duty. The good Ambassador was in a unique position: he had the courage to tell Mugabe he is a dictator. The Ambassador refused to be cowed down by the dictator’s abrasive tactics; the Ambassador was held up at a road block for many hours on one occasion and has been belittled in the government controlled media. The regime would have loved to label him a white racist but since the Ambassador has some black blood in his veins that would have never work.
Ambassador McGee would have loved to have had a sworn enemy in Mugabe and a great friend in Tsvangirai. Sadly it was not to be the later has no political clout. The Ambassador could not hide his exasperation when Tsvangirai signed the GPA and joined Mugabe in this GNU. At the time, he said the agreement as having holes so big one could drive truck through. History has proven him right!
Pleasant trip, Ambassador McGee! You were disappointed by Zimbabwe’s leaders; but so is every Zimbabwean whose life these men and women have turned into a living nightmare and many others have lost their lives unnecessarily. You should be glad, Mr Ambassador, you made millions of friends is us, the ordinary Zimbabweans. You are our hero. We are sad to see you go, you were our voice. From the bottom our hearts we wish you a pleasant trip and God bless!
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