US embassy cable - 04HARARE2012

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002012 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/S 
USDOC FOR ROBERT TELCHIN 
TREASURY FOR OREN WYCHE-SHAW 
PASS USTR FLORIZELLE LISER 
STATE PASS USAID FOR MARJORIE COPSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2014 
TAGS: EFIN, ECON, ETRD, EINV, PGOV, ZI, U.S.-Zimbabwe Bilateral Relations 
SUBJECT: GOZ CABINET OFFICIAL "TALKS" CLOSER TIES 
 
REF: A. A) HARARE 2003 
 
     B. B) HARARE 1913 
 
Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Christopher W. Dell under Secti 
on 1.5 b/d 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Acting Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa told 
the Ambassador he believes the U.S. has exaggerated the 
GOZ,s democratic shortcomings and urged us to reengage more 
with Zimbabwe.  The Ambassador responded that the U.S. is 
aware of recent GOZ overtures, but that reality on the ground 
must match this new rhetoric.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) During the Ambassador,s Dec. 13 introductory courtesy 
call on the acting Finance Minister, Murerwa suggested the 
GOZ was making a concerted effort to rebuild ties with the 
U.S.  &We want you to help us strengthen our democracy,8 
said Murerwa, a Harvard alumnus.  The acting Finance Minister 
complained that &little things8 were getting in the way of 
U.S.-Zimbabwe relations, citing the GOZ,s Oct. 27 
deportation of a Congress of South African Trade Unions 
(COSATU) delegation.  &Any country worth its salt would have 
thrown them out,8 Murerwa insisted. 
 
3. (C) The Ambassador said we were aware of President 
Mugabe,s more restrained tone toward the U.S. but were 
looking for concrete progress on issues of concern.  The 
Ambassador said a confident, democratic government would not 
worry about thirteen trade unionists on a fact-finding 
mission.  He cited other recent GOZ actions that undermine 
democracy and open debate, such as the NGO Bill, the Access 
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the 
Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and its decision to 
appeal the not guilty verdict in the treason trial of 
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan 
Tsvangirai. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
4. (C) Murerwa defended each of these policies, but said he 
would have applied them more narrowly.  &We are not a normal 
country.  We are a country under siege,8 he said.  In 
justifying the NGO bill, Murerwa maintained &the evidence 
was there8 that &the NGOs were being used for political 
purposes8 (Ref a). 
 
5. (C) Biographic Note:  Murerwa studied for a BA, MA and PhD 
at Harvard from 1972-79 through a Ford Foundation grant.  He 
returned to Zimbabwe at independence in 1979 and immediately 
became one of the first four black permanent secretaries. 
From 1984-90, he was Zimbabwe,s Ambassador to the UK and 
Ireland.  Murerwa is now on his third stint as Finance 
Minister (acting this time), although he readily acknowledges 
that education rather than economics is his forte.  He has a 
son at the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
6. (C) Comment: Murerwa,s remarks provide additional 
confirmation that the GOZ is softening its rhetoric toward 
the U.S. in the hope it can lessen its isolation.  While 
making it clear in discussions with senior GOZ officials that 
we would welcome an improved relationship, we have also 
underscored that our views are based on principle, that the 
GOZ's rhetoric must be matched by concrete actions and the 
first move has to come from Harare. 
DELL