Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE will this year miss out on the European Union (EU) €500 million aid package being extended to Africa, with the bloc suspending aid after President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed into law the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Amendment Act last month, which is seen as hostile to the work of aid groups.
Critics argue that the legislation imposes restrictive measures that could stifle the operations of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and limit their ability to advocate for human rights and social justice.
A European Commission spokesperson told NewsDay ahead of the EU-African Union (AU) Ministerial Meeting, which opened today in Brussels, that there was a huge possibility that funding from the bloc will be scaled up.
EU foreign affairs ministers and their counterparts from Africa are meeting for the third time to review progress made since the sixth EU-AU Summit of February 2022.
“For Africa, an initial total of €500 million will support vulnerable people across the continent,” the spokesperson said.
The bulk of the resources, the spokesperson added, will be extended to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, where millions of citizens have been displaced as a result of political instability.
“Aid will be channelled in west and central Africa, the Sahel, the Lake Chad basin, north-west Nigeria, the Great Lakes region and the Greater Horn of Africa,” the spokesperson said.
“Particular focus countries are the DRC and Sudan, where in 2025, the EU has allocated €160 million for humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable in Sudan itself.
”Further aid has also been provided to neighbouring countries such as Chad, where many Sudanese refugees have fled to.”
The spokesperson said the EU would provide the resources through United Nations (UN) agencies.
“All EU humanitarian aid is provided only to UN agencies, international organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as NGOs to work on concrete humanitarian projects.”
Meanwhile, EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann said the bloc was ready to work with Zimbabwe to build sustainable, long-term trade and investment relationships rooted in mutual benefit and economic transformation.
He said this at the ongoing inaugural EU-Zimbabwe Business Forum in Harare.
“Our main goal with this platform is to elevate our trade relationship and, for the first time, bring EU firms to Zimbabwean shores to strengthen our relationships,” Von Kirchmann said.
The forum, which focuses on key economic sectors such as horticulture, mining and renewable energy, is expected to pave way for a significant increase in trade volumes, which currently stand at over US$1 billion.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade permanent secretary Albert Chimbindi said: “We are poised for a new era of trade partnership.”
Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency chief executive officer Tafadzwa Chinamo said the presence of European investors was crucial in building confidence in the local economy.
“The EU firms were able to see first-hand opportunities in all sectors of the Zimbabwean economy and we’re glad they managed to see for themselves what Zimbabwe has to offer,” Chinamo noted.
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