Whither Black Economic Empowerment in Zimbabwe?*

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Barack Obama Zimbabwe, Charles Davy, Chelsy Davy, Elzie Higginbottom, Nicholas van Hoogstraten, Robert Mugabe, white businessmen in Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF, zimbabwe foreign business

*Please excuse the lack of Africa in DC content of today’s post as a holiday indulgence.* (and my concern with Zim’s upcoming elections)

I have long been interested in the lingering role of prominent white businessman in Zimbabwe (a country I have visited several times).  Notable examples include the Zimbabwean Charles Davy, whose daughter, Chelsy, dated Prince Harry for several years and Nicholas van Hoogstraten, a British (of Dutch descent) real estate mogul of nearly 70 years of age who has fathered numerous children with a coterie of southern African women (one of whom was captured in images that led to a much publicized trial).

I was intrigued to read that a Chicago businessman and associate of President Obama, has now caught the same limelight.  You can read about Elzie Higginbottom’s overtures to ZANU-PF and Robert Mugabe in this South African newspaper.

The Senate Gets Curious About Developments in Zimbabwe – Pt. 2

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Chinese Zimbabwe, Chris Coons, Donald Yamamoto, Earl Gast, Jeff Flake, Marange Mine, Rainbow Towers Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe election prospects, Zimbabwe elections

Yesterday, I covered the 2^nd panel that constituted the hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on African Affairs on Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe.  The First panel of the session convened Earl Gast, Assistant Administrator at USAID and Donald Yamamoto, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs.

The Senate Gets Curious About Developments in Zimbabwe – Pt. 1

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Chris Coons, Dewa Mahvinga, Jeff Flake, Mark Schneider, MDC Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, SADC election monitors, Subcommittee on African Affairs, Todd Moss, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe elections, Zimbabwe security sector reform

On Tuesday morning, after attending Rep. Karen Bass’ Africa Policy Breakfast Series, I headed over to the Dirksen Senate Building for my first Congressional hearing, Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe.  The title aside, the hearing was primarily an inquiry into Zimbabwe’s upcoming elections.  Two members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on African Affairs presided over the hearing.  Chris Coons (D – DE, he apparently studied in Kenya as an undergrad), the Committee Chair took the lead with support from Jeff Flake (R – AZ).  Flake had spent time in Zimbabwe in 1982 – 83 as a Mormon missionary.  His Wikipedia page says that he speaks Afrikaans and opposed sanctions on South Africa in the 1980s.  He was also Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia (no idea what that is).

The session consisted of two panels, one with prominent US government officials (State and USAID) and another with key civil society Zimbabwe watchers (in that order).  I’ll discuss the latter panel here and will cover the first panel in a post on Thursday.

CSIS Africa Notes Review #1: Whither Zimbabwe?

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black empowerment Zimbabwe, CSIS, CSIS Africa Note, indigenization Zimbabwe, Michael Clough, PF - ZAPU, Robert Mugabe, whites in Zimbabwe, ZANU - PF militancy, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe election, Zimbabwe sanctions

I have previously committed to analyzing several of the CSIS Africa notes, monthly updates on a single issue from the CSIS Africa program that were distributed between 1982 and 2006.  In honor of my personal interest in Zimbabwe and the forthcoming elections, I will begin my review with an analysis of the November, 1983 note on ‘Whither Zimbabwe?’ by Michael Clough, a political scientist who has had affiliations with the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the University of California – Berkeley (note: I had never heard of him before reading this piece).

What instantly struck me about ‘Whither Zimbabwe?’ is

‘Zimbabweans Want Change’: Tendai Biti on Zimbabwe’s 2013 Elections

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Freedom House, Movement for Democratic Change, Robert Mugabe, Tendai Biti, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe diamonds, Zimbabwe elections, Zimbabwe reform

In what is undoubtedly a product of what I now know to be the spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF, Freedom House hosted “A Conversation with Tendai Biti on Zimbabwe’s Elections” yesterday.  Tendai Biti, the Secretary General of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance in the Government of National Unity mixed optimism with concern in his remarks on the elections anticipated in Zimbabwe this year (regarding the time frame, he said that it would not be legally possible to hold the presidential election until late July at the earliest, by which time the mandate of Parliament will have expired).

Biti argued that this would be a ‘defining election for Zimbabwe’ and compared its importance to the February 1980 contest that ended minority rule and brought President Robert Mugabe to power.

In the spirit of optimism, Biti pointed to three developments

ZANU-PF, USAID, US NGO’s, and a Common Vision for Economic Development in Zimbabwe

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African agriculture, IRD, Robert Mugabe, USAID, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe

IRD Calendar, March 2013, Zimbabwe

Not long ago, I attended a career fair that had many representatives from the various non-governmental organizations that exist in the DC/MD/VA area to solve the problems of the African (and developing world) masses.  I made sure to get all the swag that is typically available at such events, a tote bag, pens, and candy (I was particularly excited to find my favorite sweet, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup).  However, the best item that I managed to pull was a 2013 calendar issued by International Relief & Development, an Arlington based NGO that seeks “to reduce the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable groups and provide the tools and resources needed to increase their self-sufficiency.”  Washington DC readers may remember IRD from their aggressive marketing campaign on the DC metro about a year ago.

The March page of the calendar tells me that “IRD has worked in Zimbabwe since 2009 to help catalyze the transition of the country from a complex humanitarian emergency to development.”