HARARE, July 2 (Xinhua) -- In his Africa visit, U.S. President Barack Obama won applause for pledging billions of dollars to support power development in the region, but his political utterances particularly on Zimbabwe's elections were slammed by the country's state media.
Obama, who ended his week-long tour to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania on Tuesday, announced a 7-billion-U.S.-dollar initiative to expand electricity access in six African countries. An additional 9 billion dollars will come from private companies like General Electric and Symbion Power, Obama said.
Research and executive director of the Harare-based Southern African Research and Documentation Center Phyllis Johnson told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday that although the power projects might not be initiated until 2014 at the Africa Infrastructure and Investment Conference, it would be deeply embedded and long term.
The power pledge is good news to U.S. businesses investing in the region, and good news to Africa as well, said Johnson, whose institute specializes studies on the southern Africa region.
"Take the South African industry for example, the mining sector where U.S. businesses are heavily invested is reeling from energy shortages and energy charges," Johnson said.
Mineral extraction industry is one of the heaviest users of electricity and is a more frequent victim of blackouts than any others are.
Experts said Obama's Africa trip is to make the continent a better investment opportunity for U.S. businesses interested in strategic minerals, oil and gas. A boost in economic ties between U.S. and the huge market of Africa will help buoy the sluggish U.S. economy as well.
But the energy pledge is expected to be mutually-beneficiary.
Johnson said the U.S. aid would boost the Tanzanian economy at a time when Tanzania faces challenges in funding its own social services.
Tanzania's Minister for Energy and Minerals Sospeter Muhongo said Tanzania, which is among six beneficiaries of the project in Africa, has already made the list of its power projects and handed them to the U.S. Embassy.
The projects will begin to be implemented after completion of the environmental impact assessment, Muhongo said, adding that most of the projects aim to increase power access to rural dwellers.
While Obama got accolades to the energy development pledge, he did not enjoy not so kind words from Zimbabwe's state media for his political utterances seen ostensibly supporting opponents to the veteran president Robert Mugabe ahead of a key election.
Obama called for a free and fair election with "key reforms" implemented, echoing the urges of Mugabe's long-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
"This is not the first time that the Obama administration has shown support for what is believed to be its puppet projects in Africa, a few weeks before elections are held," Zimbabwe's state- controlled newspaper The Sunday Mail said.
Sister paper The Herald followed up, accusing Obama of abusing his visit to meddle in Zimbabwe's internal affairs.
"We would also like to remind Obama, whose hands drip with the blood of the innocent the world over... Zimbabwe is not the 51st U. S. state. If he wants to gain the respect of the developing world that he desperately hankers for, he should acquaint himself with issues first before playing Mr know-it-all," the paper said in an editorial comment.
Mugabe, 89, is seeking another five-year-term in the July election to extend his 33-year rule of the country since independence from Britain in 1980.
Observers point out that during the last American president's Africa visit in 2003, Obama's predecessor George W Bush also took the chance to take up Zimbabwean politics.
At the time, Bush told then South African President Thabo Mbeki that he was his "point man" on Zimbabwe, urging him to help resolve political issues in the country.
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