Mugabe Pleads for Aid

But the African leader takes home only good will

"I came, I saw, I was conquered," Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, declared expansively after a rousing welcome last week in the East Room of the White House. But in his six-day visit to the U.S., it was Mugabe who did the conquering. Only a year ago, he was a hunted rebel leader, directing his guerrillas against the white-backed government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia. But he swept through the United Nations, New York City and Washington, D.C., with the aplomb of an experienced diplomat who had spent a lifetime on the international political stage.

Mugabe's first stop in the U.S. was Harlem, where he appealed for solidarity between American and African blacks. His audience replied with cheers, raised fists and chants of "Mu-ga-be." But officially he had come to the U.S. to address the U.N., where his nation formally took its place as the 153rd member in the General Assembly. With a certain irony, the Zimbabwe delegation was seated right behind that of Britain, its former colonial master. Mugabe, however, had no time for recriminations. He praised Britain for "a job well done" in negotiating the turnover of his country to black majority rule. Though he forecast the eventual development of a home-grown form of socialism in Zimbabwe, he renewed earlier pledges that his country would not be aligned with East or West. Said he: "We will not let any of our friends choose for us who should be our other friends."

Mugabe's polished, conciliatory tone was in keeping with what he most wanted from his trip: money for his country. He estimated that Zimbabwe would need "something on the order of $1.5 billion in the immediate future" to rebuild its economy, and a total of $4 billion for redevelopment. At a luncheon of the Foreign Policy Association in Manhattan's elegant Plaza Hotel, he said Zimbabwe would welcome investment by any U.S. company that allows some measure of local control, pays decent wages, permits unions and plows some of its earnings back into the host country. Promised Mugabe: "Investments are safe. Whatever profits accrue, the investors can remit abroad."

In Washington, Mugabe was given a royal reception. While drums and trumpets sounded, an honor guard saluted the Prime Minister on his arrival at the White House. During a private chat with Jimmy Carter, Mugabe once again stressed his country's urgent need for foreign aid; he has requested $350 million, but the U.S. so far has sent or promised only $105 million in grants and long-term loans during 1980 and 1981. U.S. officials maintain lamely--and shortsightedly, given the U.S. interest in Mugabe's success--that budget problems prevent sending more.

While Mugabe received little beyond good will from the President, the Prime Minister remained in high spirits at a sumptuous gathering in the East Room. He thanked Carter for supporting the establishment of Zimbabwe and even endorsed the President for reelection. Earlier, Mugabe had explained his presidential preference with a wry anecdote from his boyhood. He had wanted to exchange his hunting dog for one that might bring in more game, but his grandfather asked him: "How do you know that the dog you want to buy will be as dependable as the dog you already know?" Recalled Mugabe: "Well, I didn't give up the dog."

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