BULAWAYO – A Bill introduced in the United States Congress could repeal the two-decade-old Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA), a law that has long restricted Zimbabwe’s access to international credit.
But while the move has been welcomed in Harare as a breakthrough, economic cooperation with the US would still hinge on Zimbabwe settling the contentious issue of compensating white former commercial farmers.
The Bill, tabled by Republican Congressman Brian Mast, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, proposes the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act”, a wide-ranging omnibus law covering US foreign policy priorities. Among its provisions is a proposal to drop ZDERA, which was first enacted in 2001 and amended in 2018.
Mast says his Bill seeks to prevent “ideologues masquerading as diplomats from using their posts to push left-wing agendas instead of America’s interests,” while also repositioning Washington’s engagement in Africa.
If passed, the Bill would end ZDERA’s restrictions on Zimbabwe. However, it sets a tough new condition: the United States would oppose any new World Bank or IMF funding for Zimbabwe unless the government pays all arrears owed under the US$3.5 billion Global Compensation Deed signed with white farmers in 2020.
“The United States shall not support any new or expanded funding … unless the government of Zimbabwe shall commit, within 12 months … to remit all outstanding arrears owed under the Global Compensation Deed, inflation adjusted to the date of enactment, and compensation shall not be in the form of Zimbabwe issued securities,” the Bill states.
Zimbabwe agreed in 2020 to compensate farmers for improvements on seized farms, and not the land itself. Treasury has issued USD-denominated bonds to finance the deal, but actual cash payments have been slow. This year, only US$10 million was budgeted, with the bulk of the compensation tied up in long-term bonds. If the new US Bill becomes law, those bonds would not be accepted, and Zimbabwe would have to settle the debt in hard cash within a year of receiving new multilateral funding — a potentially crippling demand given the country’s US$21 billion debt burden.
In Harare, officials say the very prospect of ZDERA’s repeal marks a turning point. Presidency spokesman George Charamba described the development as “a major breakthrough” for the country.
“Zimbabweans, this is a major development for our country. Really big if it comes through, as looks likely,” Charamba said in a statement on Monday. “It is not easy to get America to rescind a law with bi-partisan support. Both Republicans and Democrats supported ZDERA, making it a consensual American law against Zimbabwe. It has been with us – a huge albatross since 2001w – augmented by similar laws in Europe and other jurisdictions.”
Charamba said the move was the result of persistent lobbying by Zimbabwe and its allies at regional and continental levels.
“SADC went as far as designating October 25 as the Anti-Sanctions Day on Zimbabwe. Today, less than a month before this year’s commemorations, we see the Americans beginning to move in the right direction.”
He added: “While not yet uhuru, we hear the sounds of breaking shackles a short distance away. Well done President ED Mnangagwa; your policy of engagement and re-engagement has delivered its ultimate fruit — well, not quite yet, but arguably just about to.”
Charamba acknowledged that hurdles remained, including continued restrictions on Mnangagwa himself..
“Of course, we still chafe that our President is still on sanctions, meaning the foremost face of the Zimbabwean State is still constrained, but this development presages many possibilities ahead.”
ZDERA was originally introduced in response to Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, human rights abuses, and its involvement in the DRC war. The 2018 amendment tied Zimbabwe’s access to international credit to compensation for white farmers and adherence to SADC tribunal rulings that declared the land reform discriminatory.
Zimbabwe, however, maintains that its constitution only provides for compensation for improvements and not for the land itself, except under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements. This fundamental conflict has remained unresolved for two decades.
Now, with Congress weighing the Bill to scrap ZDERA but replace it with new conditions, Zimbabwe faces a fresh test: whether it can seize the opportunity of re-engagement without stumbling over the thorny issue of land compensation.
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