Name: Anonymous 2009-06-16 13:46
The US president was speaking at the White House in Washington, where he met the visiting Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Mr Obama said he wanted to encourage the rule of law, human rights and basic health and education in Zimbabwe. Mr Tsvangirai - who entered a power-sharing agreement with President Robert Mugabe in February - is on an international tour to seek aid.
President Obama said he had "extraordinary admiration for the courage and tenacity" shown by Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe. The US president said the power-sharing coalition in Zimbabwe was showing promise, following what he termed the "very dark and difficult" period the country had been through.
Correspondents say the warm welcome given to Mr Tsvangirai is in sharp contrast to the attitude towards President Mugabe, who is the subject of a travel ban and assets freeze by the United States and European Union. Earlier, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti said the country's economy could grow by between 4% and 6% this year. Mr Biti said steps would be taken to restrict central bank activities such as borrowing and that Zimbabwe was coping with a lack of foreign aid. The Zimbabwe economy has been battered by years of hyperinflation. Mr Biti was speaking at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.
"I think we will be able to achieve a growth rate of at least 6%, although conservatively it will be 4% in 2009," he told journalists. Zimbabwe's economy has been shrinking for years. It contracted by 6.1% in 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund. The power-sharing government has said the country needs about $10bn (£6bn) to stabilise its economy. Obama, citing concern "about consolidating democracy, human rights and rule of law," cautioned the aid will go to the Zimbabwean people rather than a government where Tsvangirai shares power uneasily with President Robert Mugabe.
The US president hailed Tsvangirai and criticized Mugabe who he said "has not acted oftentimes in the best interest of the Zimbabwean people and has been resistant to the kinds of democratic changes that need to take place." Standing next to Tsvangirai, Obama expressed his "extraordinary admiration for the courage, the tenacity that the prime minister has shown in navigating through some very difficult political times."
The power-sharing coalition in place since February, Obama added, shows promise and the United States wants to do everything it can "to encourage the kinds of improvement, not only on human rights and rule of law, freedom of the press, and democracy that is so necessary, but also on the economic front." Tsvangirai said the transitional government has made progress in dealing with the country's problems, but much work lay ahead.
"We want to institute those reforms that will ensure that in 18 months' time the people of Zimbabwe will be given an opportunity to live their own lives," he told reporters at the White House. Tsvangirai is on an international tour looking for development aid as his country seeks to emerge from years of rampant inflation and a breakdown in basic services that has forced many Zimbabweans to flee the country. Until now, the country has received mainly emergency humanitarian aid, including to fight a deadly cholera epidemic.
The prime minister, speaking to a few reporters at his hotel afterward, said that the sums announced by Obama can be used toward developing basic services, such as rebuilding water and sanitation systems, hospitals and schools. He acknowledged that Zimbabwe needed much more money for development.
"Of course we need billions of dollars, but as far as we are concerned, this is the step in the right direction," Tsvangirai said. "It is an endorsement of confidence in the process. It is an appreciation that whatever we do to improve our conditions must be rewarded because that is how you consolidate the process," the prime minister said. The prime minister's welcome abroad contrasts with the international chill towards Mugabe. Both the European Union and the United States maintain a travel ban and asset freeze on Mugabe, his wife and inner circle in protest at controversial elections and alleged human rights abuses by his government.
Mugabe and rival Tsvangirai on February 11 formed a power-sharing government tasked with steering Zimbabwe back to stability after disputed elections last year plunged the country into crisis. Under the fledgling government's watch, more than 800 million dollars in credit lines have been secured to rebuild the shattered economy, and the International Monetary Fund has said it will resume technical aid to Harare. But that is still a fraction of the 8.5 billion dollars the government says it needs, and private firms say they want more guarantees that the rule of law will be respected before they invest. Tsvangirai is due to travel next to Germany and other European countries, according to those organizing his visit here.
President Obama said he had "extraordinary admiration for the courage and tenacity" shown by Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe. The US president said the power-sharing coalition in Zimbabwe was showing promise, following what he termed the "very dark and difficult" period the country had been through.
Correspondents say the warm welcome given to Mr Tsvangirai is in sharp contrast to the attitude towards President Mugabe, who is the subject of a travel ban and assets freeze by the United States and European Union. Earlier, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti said the country's economy could grow by between 4% and 6% this year. Mr Biti said steps would be taken to restrict central bank activities such as borrowing and that Zimbabwe was coping with a lack of foreign aid. The Zimbabwe economy has been battered by years of hyperinflation. Mr Biti was speaking at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.
"I think we will be able to achieve a growth rate of at least 6%, although conservatively it will be 4% in 2009," he told journalists. Zimbabwe's economy has been shrinking for years. It contracted by 6.1% in 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund. The power-sharing government has said the country needs about $10bn (£6bn) to stabilise its economy. Obama, citing concern "about consolidating democracy, human rights and rule of law," cautioned the aid will go to the Zimbabwean people rather than a government where Tsvangirai shares power uneasily with President Robert Mugabe.
The US president hailed Tsvangirai and criticized Mugabe who he said "has not acted oftentimes in the best interest of the Zimbabwean people and has been resistant to the kinds of democratic changes that need to take place." Standing next to Tsvangirai, Obama expressed his "extraordinary admiration for the courage, the tenacity that the prime minister has shown in navigating through some very difficult political times."
The power-sharing coalition in place since February, Obama added, shows promise and the United States wants to do everything it can "to encourage the kinds of improvement, not only on human rights and rule of law, freedom of the press, and democracy that is so necessary, but also on the economic front." Tsvangirai said the transitional government has made progress in dealing with the country's problems, but much work lay ahead.
"We want to institute those reforms that will ensure that in 18 months' time the people of Zimbabwe will be given an opportunity to live their own lives," he told reporters at the White House. Tsvangirai is on an international tour looking for development aid as his country seeks to emerge from years of rampant inflation and a breakdown in basic services that has forced many Zimbabweans to flee the country. Until now, the country has received mainly emergency humanitarian aid, including to fight a deadly cholera epidemic.
The prime minister, speaking to a few reporters at his hotel afterward, said that the sums announced by Obama can be used toward developing basic services, such as rebuilding water and sanitation systems, hospitals and schools. He acknowledged that Zimbabwe needed much more money for development.
"Of course we need billions of dollars, but as far as we are concerned, this is the step in the right direction," Tsvangirai said. "It is an endorsement of confidence in the process. It is an appreciation that whatever we do to improve our conditions must be rewarded because that is how you consolidate the process," the prime minister said. The prime minister's welcome abroad contrasts with the international chill towards Mugabe. Both the European Union and the United States maintain a travel ban and asset freeze on Mugabe, his wife and inner circle in protest at controversial elections and alleged human rights abuses by his government.
Mugabe and rival Tsvangirai on February 11 formed a power-sharing government tasked with steering Zimbabwe back to stability after disputed elections last year plunged the country into crisis. Under the fledgling government's watch, more than 800 million dollars in credit lines have been secured to rebuild the shattered economy, and the International Monetary Fund has said it will resume technical aid to Harare. But that is still a fraction of the 8.5 billion dollars the government says it needs, and private firms say they want more guarantees that the rule of law will be respected before they invest. Tsvangirai is due to travel next to Germany and other European countries, according to those organizing his visit here.