THERE is a general misconception that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is a charitable agency that is the best thing to come out of America. It is not.
On our part we had already seen through this chicanery and discovered what it is — an instrument for the destabilisation of the so-called developing countries.
And we have not been ashamed to tell that to the rest of the world.
Now the new US President’s own right-hand man, billionaire Elton Musk, has publicly admitted that USAID is nothing but a ‘criminal organisation’, which must be dismantled.
At long last we have been vindicated.
Like us, the US has apparently admitted some of the activities it funds are not exactly humanitarian. These include coups, protests and funding of opposition political parties and activists among other subversive activities. And, we are reliably told by impeccable sources, that USAID also works hand-in-hand with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . So much for ‘humanitarian assistance’! Talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
As far as the developing countries are concerned, it will be a fatal mistake to believe that proposed dismantling of the US aid agency signals a genuine change of heart on the part of the US. No. It is in the US DNA to create a dependency syndrome world- wide, by fomenting violence and manufacturing diseases, so that the US is seen as the proverbial knight in shining armour.
We are prepared to bet our bottom dollar that the US will never cut to support these shadowy organisations bent on causing anarchy to bring down governments that re- fuse to toe Washington’s line.
USAID might die in its present form, but the aims for which it was founded in 1961
— creating a ‘dependency syndrome’ – will never be abandoned.
At least not by the Trump government, of all American administrations.
It is being ‘reformed’ for it to come back as a more efficient agency to enable the US to control the world. The Cold War may be officially over, but the US is always looking over its shoulder in case the Chinese and Russians threaten their ‘interests’.
We are aware of various NGOs that have sprouted in Zimbabwe in response to events that will have excited the United States. According to official statistics, over 4 500 NGOs have been registered in Zimbabwe since 2000 when we embarked on our historic land reform programme.
How could a black Government dare to take land from the whites!
NGOs funded by USAID were unleashed to destabilise Zimbabwe’s revolutionary Government under the guise of ‘fighting for democracy’. Now that South Africa has taken Zimbabwe’s path by enacting the ExpropriationBillinto law, it can expect more of the same.
During elections or international events these NGOs go into overdrive in their anti-government activities in order to attract funding from USAID and other such US- backed agencies.
It, therefore, does not come as a surprise that at one time USAID claimed it had provided more than US$3 billion to promote ‘democratic institutions and actors’ in Zimbabwe alone.
This was despite reports in the local media that US was being duped by local NGOs who diverted funds to satisfy personal needs.
ThePatriot,among other publications, cited examples of ‘executives’ who were living in the lap of luxury, thanks to USAID’s benevolence. Some of these individuals are still living in mansions and driving luxurious cars, courtesy of USAID funds.
To disguise the brazen theft of USAID money, the leaders of these NGOs organised illegal demonstrations and provoked the police to arrest them, thereby convincing their funders that they were indeed ‘fighting for democracy’.
But all good things come to an end. It was not long before USAID woke up from its deep slumber when it realised that millions of its funds could not be accounted for. No wonder in 2018 it suspended funding for organisations suspected of abusing agency funds, among them ZimRights, Election Resource Centre (ERC) and Counselling Services.
No doubt Trump and his admiration are now aware of all this, hence the shutting down of the organisation which was dishing out money like confetti to fraudsters.
On Zimbabwe’s part, there is no need to celebrate, for what is going to come out of
USAID’s ashes is a more powerful destabilising force. We can see through the blindfold.
