PRETORIA, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary  Clinton encouraged South Africa yesterday to press for reform in  Zimbabwe and said Washington would build closer ties with  Pretoria after strains under the Bush administration.

Before meeting South Africa’s foreign minister yesterday,  Clinton said she would urge the new government to get Zimbabwe  to raise the pace of political reform which has been too slow  for donors to release substantial amounts of aid.

“South Africa is very aware of the challenges posed by the  political crisis in Zimbabwe because South Africa has 3 million  refugees from Zimbabwe,” Clinton told a news conference after  meeting International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite  Nkoana-Mashabane.

“And every one of those refugees represents a failure of the  Zimbabwean government to care for its own people and a burden  that South Africa has to bear,” she added.

The United States, troubled by what it sees as an absence of  reform in Zimbabwe, has no plans either to offer major  development aid or to lift sanctions against Mugabe and some of  his supporters.

“Now we as you know are attempting to target the leadership  of Zimbabwe with sanctions that we think might influence their  behaviour without hurting the people of Zimbabwe,” said Clinton.

Before sanctions can be lifted or major aid can flow,  Washington wants more evidence of political, social and economic  reforms by Mugabe and the government he shares with opposition  leader and now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, is  blamed for plunging Zimbabwe into economic ruin. He argues that  his country’s economic woes, which include hyperinflation and a  collapsed infrastructure, are caused by sanctions.

New South African President Jacob Zuma, due to meet Clinton  in the coastal city of Durban today, has taken a harder  line on Zimbabwe than his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, but the  United States wants more.

Clinton hopes there will be a burst of goodwill due to the  change of government in both South Africa and the United States  and that it will lead to better relations with Pretoria than the  Bush administration had.

“I know that the (foreign) minister and I are interested in  making sure that our two countries not only lead but demonstrate  the kind of cooperation that results in positive results for the  people of the world,” said Clinton.

Nkoana-Mashabane said coordination with the previous U.S.  administration had been poor and she wanted to “elevate” the  relationship with the Obama team. She also promised South Africa  would try to get Zimbabwe to move faster in introducing reforms.