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Mugabe in opposition heartland
25/04/2008 12:42 - (SA)
Bulawayo - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe made a rare foray into the opposition's heartland on Friday as the US piled further pressure on him to stand down after last month's election.
Mugabe was due to launch an international trade fair in the southern city of Bulawayo, which has long been the bastion of opposition to his 28-year rule and failed to elect a single lawmaker from the ruling party in the March 29 vote.
While there were no advance details of his speech, it will be only the second address that Mugabe has delivered since election day when he sought to gain a sixth term in office.
The Zimbabwean government has so far given no response to a blunt declaration by the top US envoy for Africa that he had been clearly beaten by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the people had voted for change.
With the electoral commission having failed to give any word on the outcome of a simultaneous presidential election, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer said any results that were to be announced would lack credibility.
"It is hard for us to accept that any result at this point would have any credibility," Frazer told reporters on Thursday after talks with officials in South Africa.
"The Zimbabwean people voted for change and we feel the will of the people must be respected."
Support would damage US relations
Frazer was due to travel to the Angolan capital Luanda on Friday where she was expected to hold talks with veteran President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
The Angolan leader is a long-time ally of Mugabe but has so far made no public pledge of support for his Zimbabwean counterpart.
Frazer wants to ensure that none of the countries in the region come to the aid of Mugabe and hammer home the message that any such support would damage their relations with Washington.
The Bush administration has nailed its colours firmly to the mast of Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai who met with Frazer at an undisclosed venue in South Africa on Thursday night.
The US government has made clear that it will lift all sanctions against Zimbabwe if Tsvangirai - who has already declared himself the victor of the March 29 polls - takes up the reins of office.
Mugabe has blamed the sanctions imposed by the US and European Union, which are largely limited to a ban on arms sales and a travel ban on top Zimbabwean officials, for the country's economic decline in recent years.
Once the bread basket of the region, Zimbabwe is now groaning under the impact of an annual inflation rate officially put at 165 000%, the highest in the world.
'An economic powerhouse'
No sector of the economy has escaped the impact of the economic malaise and foreign investors have largely turned their backs on the country.
The once-bustling trade fair in Bulawayo is now a shadow of its former self and the number of exhibitors on Friday was well down on previous years.
However the government was trying to put a brave face on proceedings, with Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu describing Zimbabwe as "an economic powerhouse".
"There are some foreign exhibitors although there are fewer than last year," Ndlovu said on the sidelines of the fair.
"The ones who have come are the ones who believe in the Zimbabwe story - that Zimbabwe is an economic destination, an economic powerhouse.
"They have defied all odds and the demonisation of the president and the government and the wrong predictions that the Zimbabwe economy is falling down and they have confidence in our economy and are prepared to invest in this country."
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