Harare - A visiting Danish minister is refusing to meet President Robert Mugabe, describing the aging leader as a dictator and an
impediment to democracy and development of Zimbabwe.

 It is traditional for visiting government ministers and other senior dignitaries to pay a courtesy call on Mugabe who is now considered the supreme leader of Zimbabwe and is addressed everyday by the state media with his several titles which include head of state, head of government and commander in chief of the Zimbabwe defence forces.

 Danish Minister of Development Cooperation, Soren Pind told Zimdiaspora that he is in the country to meet progressive forces and a meeting with Mugabe was not on his plans. He said it is now time for Mugabe to leave office to allow for the democratisation and development of the country to take place. “I have not plans to meet Mugabe, but if I have no option, then I will tell him in his face that he is a dictator,” said Pind. Pind said his country supported the recent extension of the European Union sanctions on Mugabe and his close cronies, saying conditions on the ground have not yet improved to warrant their removal. He said during his four-day visit, he will tour Danish funded projects in parts of the country and meet with government officials, members of the civil society and farmers. Denmark was a big supporter of the country’s struggle for independence and provided material and financial support to the liberation movements.

After independence, the Scandinavian country was a major provider of development aid to Zimbabwe and funded projects such as infrastructure, roads and water development, as well as the education and health sectors. However after the violent take over of white owned farms in 2000 and the unleashing of political violence and other gross human rights
abuses by Zanu PF, Denmark drastically reduced development aid to Zimbabwe. The signing of the Global Political Agreement between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Zanu PF and the subsequent formation of the inclusive government following Zanu PF’s defeat in the 2008 elections, has provided an opportunity for donor countries such as Denmark to resume funding to Zimbabwe. But, Zanu PF’s refusal to fully implement the GPA and the party’s continued stranglehold on the police, the military and the judiciary is slowing the reform process in the country making investors and
donors hesitant to move in.