‘Smart’ aid

Rather, they urged Mugabe’s much-reviled nemesis, the west, to fork out the whole lot – despite the aging dictator’s semi-incoherent rantings against the British and American governments at every opportunity.

When the Mugabe regime intensified its repression against the Zimbabwean populace, the international community responded by imposing ‘smart sanctions’. Now that a window of opportunity exists to unclench his iron grip on power, the international community should respond by encouraging these tentative steps towards democracy by giving ‘smart aid’.

By this I mean that any aid money should be targeted at those ministries controlled by the MDC, with the proviso that when the Zanu (PF)-controlled ministries take meaningful steps towards democratisation, aid can then be directed to them as a reward.

It is vital that the MDC-controlled ministries in the fledgling government of national unity be supported – in order to avoid negative political repercussions, not to mention alleviating the humanitarian suffering to which western governments are already committed. These ministries are directly involved with the people. They must be helped.

However, on no account, must the Zanu (PF)-controlled ministries receive any international aid - as long as they continue to conduct business as usual.A clear message must be sent that their behaviour is unacceptable.

Assistance must only be given to them as they take steps towards democracy. For example, take the ministry of information – when they start de-regulating the media, money could be channelled to that particular ministry as a reward for moving towards democracy and freedom of expression.

The ministries responsible for the oppression of the people of Zimbabwe should not be given any assistance, until they demonstrate that they are serious about mending their ways. Here we have in mind the ministries of defence, home affairs, agriculture and defence, and the president’s office responsible for the CIO.
It is surely possible to implement strict conditions and monitoring systems to ensure that only those ministries demonstrating a commitment to transparency, democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law receive aid.