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Zambia blasts US over health deal in exchange for minerals
Harare (AP):Zambia is accusing the United States of tying a US$2 billion deal for critical health assistance to access to the southern African nation’s rich mineral assets, and calling the outgoing US ambassador’s allegations of corruption “mischievous” and “undiplomatic”.The comments by Zambia’s foreign affairs minister, Mulambo Haimbe, on Monday brought into the open simmering tensions over President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ strategy, which is reshaping aid to Africa into transactional agreements.Some African leaders and health experts have criticised the new US stance and its demands for sensitive health data in exchange for badly needed support for health systems strained by the Trump administration’s dismantling of foreign aid. Some say they would not receive access to health innovations like vaccines in return.The US is also seeking to challenge China, a dominant player in Zambia and much of Africa, whose minerals are critical to the green energy transition, including inputs for solar panels, electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems.In a statement, Haimbe described the accusations of Zambian graft and negotiation inertia by outgoing US ambassador Michael Gonzales as “mischievous” and “deeply regrettable, undiplomatic and inconsistent with the spirit of mutual respect”.Haimbe also accused the US of tying access to critical minerals to the conclusion of the health deal, which Gonzales earlier dismissed as “alarmist allegations” that he called “disgusting” and “absolutely and patently false.”Negotiations have continued for months to conclude the deal, one of dozens the Trump administration is pursuing in some of the world’s most aid-dependent countries.Gonzales in late April said Zambian leaders had “abdicated their responsibilities, letting the United States pay for healthcare while officials diverted government funds to their own pockets”
