US concerned about Zim future: Envoy

Politics
UNITED STATES ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton yesterday said the US government is deeply concerned about the future of Zimbabwe whose economy is expected to grow adding that some key issues had to be resled.

UNITED STATES ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton yesterday said the US government is deeply concerned about the future of Zimbabwe whose economy is expected to grow adding that some key issues had to be resled. NQOBILE BHEBHE CHIEF REPORTER

Addressing guests at the one-day international business conference, Wharton said the US cared about Zimbabwe’s future.

“All of us care about Zimbabwe and its future and that certainly includes the US government, which recognises how important it is to get this great nation’s economy going again,” he said.

“The essential basis for a growing economy is confidence; government policies will be predictable and implemented consistently; confidence that private property and intellectual rights will be protected.

“Without confidence in these and other basic government processes, domestic and foreign businesses are reluctant to invest.

“I remain optimistic about Zimbabwe’s future. There are simply too many well educated creative hard working people in this great country.”

Political relations between the two countries have been frosty over the years with the US slapping economic sanctions on Zimbabwe’s political elite.

Last week Registrar-General Tobaiwa was added onto the sanctions list.

However, on the economic front, Zimbabwe and the US have enjoyed positive trade relations in the past 15 years.

Between 2000 and 2012, statistics show that Zimbabwe had a trade surplus with the US in eight of the 13 years (2000 to 2006 and 2008).

The total trade between the US and Zimbabwe grew by an average annual rate of 16% between 2004 and 2008. The US embassy, which is the leading provider of bilateral HIV and Aids assistance in Zimbabwe, will showcase work on health programmes supported by the US government in Zimbabwe.

Most of this support is funded through the US President’s Plan for Aids Relief, which committed $95 million in 2013 and again in 2014 to support Zimbabwe’s national response to HIV and Aids by providing high impact prevention, care, and treatment interventions.