US embassy cable - 03HARARE739

UNCLAS HARARE 000739 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/S 
USTR PASS PCOLEMAN, WJACKSON 
 
E. O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, ZI 
SUBJECT: Zimbabwe's Lack of Progress Toward AGOA 
Qualifications 
 
Ref: State 53658 
 
Zimbabwe remains unqualified for AGOA.  We address the 6 
broad areas from reftel below: 
 
1) AGOA Trade and Investment:  N/A  Zimbabwe's 
sophisticated textile sector is clearly losing business 
to AGOA-qualified countries. 
 
2) Market Economy/Economic Reform/Elimination of Trade 
Barriers: Zimbabwe's economic decline accelerated in 
2002.  Gross Domestic Product lost about 12 percent.  The 
Government's land redistribution demolished Zimbabwe's 
agricultural sector, which traditionally accounted for 
half of exports.  The country's infrastructure is 
collapsing, with basic commodities increasing 
unavailable.  Foreign direct investment is nearly zero. 
 
3) Rule of Law/Political Pluralism/Anti-Corruption: In 
the aftermath of the deeply flawed March 2002 
presidential election, which most serious observer groups 
dismissed as unfree and unfair, Government intensified 
its repression of the opposition, the judiciary, and the 
independent press.  President Mugabe regularly disparaged 
the principal opposition party -- which, by the 
Government's count, won 1.2 million of the 2.8 million 
votes cast in the presidential election -- as a puppet of 
the United Kingdom which should be crushed.  Corruption 
at all levels of government appears to be increasing -- 
exacerbated by the economy's implosion.  A government- 
sanctioned audit of the chaotic land redistribution 
program - the centerpiece of the ruling party's political 
agenda -- revealed widespread abuse of the announced 
resettlement rules by ruling party cronies, who benefited 
handsomely from a policy bearing large responsibility for 
Zimbabwe's rapid economic contraction. 
 
4) Poverty Reduction: Poverty expanded rapidly. 
Zimbabweans have had increasingly difficulty affording 
food, health-care and transport.  In 2002, the U.S. 
contributed over US$ 120 million in food aid. 
 
5) Human Rights/Labor/Child Labor:  Zimbabwe's human 
rights record continued to worsen, as an increasingly 
unpopular government escalated its repression of 
suspected opposition supporters.  In 2002, there were 
1397 reported cases of torture, unlawful arrest, murder, 
rape, and other politically-motivated crimes.  More than 
90 percent of these attacks were perpetrated by ruling 
party supporters and security services, according to 
reputable human rights organizations.  The Government 
frequently singled out labor leaders for intimidation. 
 
6) AGOA Outreach: N/A 
 
Sullivan