HARARE
–
The
United
States
has
flatly
denied
that
it
was
seeking
access
to
Zimbabwe’s
mineral
wealth,
insisting
that
a
proposed
health-aid
agreement
abandoned
on
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
instructions
contained
no
provisions
related
to
the
country’s
critical
minerals.
A
US
official
familiar
with
the
negotiations
said
Zimbabwe
walked
away
from
weeks
of
intensive
technical
talks
without
offering
any
explanation,
having
never
raised
political
or
policy
concerns
throughout
the
entire
process.
“No
policy
or
political
concerns
were
relayed
to
us,”
the
official
said,
speaking
off
the
record.
“The
government
then
notified
us
it
was
ceasing
negotiations
without
stating
why.”
The
official
was
emphatic
that
the
memorandum
of
understanding
under
discussion
was
strictly
limited
to
public-health
cooperation.
“The
MOU
focused
solely
on
health
cooperation
and
did
not
contain
any
provisions
related
to
critical
minerals,
neither
explicitly
nor
implicitly,”
the
official
said.
“This
MoU
is,
and
has
always
been,
about
the
health
of
the
Zimbabwean
people.”
Washington
said
the
agreement
would
have
preserved
long-standing
global
health-data
standards,
including
the
sharing
of
anonymous,
aggregated
epidemiological
data
used
since
the
launch
of
PEPFAR
in
2006
to
track
disease
trends
and
direct
treatment
resources.
The
collapse
of
the
deal
was
confirmed
by
the
US
Embassy
in
Harare
last
week.
Ambassador
Pamela
Tremont
warned
that
the
breakdown
would
rob
Zimbabwean
communities
of
significant
benefits,
particularly
the
1.2
million
people
currently
receiving
HIV
treatment
through
US-supported
programmes.
“We
now
face
the
difficult
and
regrettable
task
of
winding
down
our
health
assistance
in
Zimbabwe,”
she
said.
The
draft
MoU
carried
$367
million
in
funding
over
five
years.
The
termination
order
traces
back
to
a
letter
dated
December
23,
signed
by
Zimbabwe’s
Secretary
for
Foreign
Affairs,
indicating
that
Mnangagwa
had
personally
ordered
talks
halted.
“Zimbabwe
must
discontinue
any
negotiation
with
the
USA
on
the
clearly
lopsided
MoU
that
blatantly
compromises
and
undermines
the
sovereignty
and
independence
of
Zimbabwe,”
the
letter
said.
The
breakdown
comes
against
the
backdrop
of
Washington’s
push
for
a
new
wave
of
bilateral
health
agreements
under
its
America
First
framework,
introduced
following
the
sweeping
downsizing
of
USAID
under
the
Trump
administration.
At
least
20
African
countries
including
Kenya,
the
DRC
and
Uganda
have
signed
the
agreements
with
the
United
States.