Bush criticizes Zimbabwe regime

PRESIDENT George W Bush criticised Zimbabwe’s bad governance yesterday, hours after President Robert Mugabe’s government taunted him for a climbdown from his hardline policy towards Harare.

Bush said after meeting Botswana's President Festus Mogae he would continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe, which is gripped by a lingering political and social crisis.

"We expect there to be democracy in Zimbabwe, in order for the people of that country to advance", Bush said in the capital of Botswana, a country viewed by Washington as a rare African example of good governance.

"It's a shame the Zimbabwean economy has got so weak and soft. It is a shame for Botswana, it's a shame for southern Africa, and that the weakness in the economy is directly attributable to bad governance.

"Therefore we will continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe," Bush added, on the third leg of a five-nation African tour.

Zimbabwe's official Herald newspaper earlier quoted a statement from the government's information department critical of Bush's remarks on Zimbabwe after talks in Pretoria with South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Bush used the talks to back Mbeki's quiet diplomacy on Zimbabwe, and did not repeat acidic criticisms of Mugabe in public when he appeared with the South African leader.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai meanwhile, said yesterday that his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was "heartened by the sense of urgency displayed by presidents Mbeki and Bush".

He said in a statement he hoped Mbeki would ensure talks resumed between the MDC and Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front in days rather than weeks.

The MDC, which rejects Mugabe's victory in presidential elections last year, has strongly criticised Mbeki for not taking a firm stance against Mugabe.