A critical look at the revocation of US sanctions on Zimbabwe while maintaining ZDERA- By Jonathan Moyo

Twenty one years ago, on 6 March 2003, US President George W. Bush claimed to have “determined” under Executive Order 13288 that some alleged actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons undermined, “Zimbabwe’s democratic processes or institutions”, and that their alleged actions and policies contributed “to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe…and to political and economic instability in the southern African region”; and constituted “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States”; and that therefore he had declared, “a national emergency to deal with that threat.”

This was flabbergasting, and far reaching.

The US government declared that there was “an unusual and extraordinary” situation in Zimbabwe which threatened “the foreign policy of the US”. To deal with that situation, the US declared “a national emergency”, which empowered various organs of the US government to take unusual, extraordinary and thus hostile measures regarding Zimbabwe.

It is notable that the “national emergency” declared by Bush in March 2003 to “deal with” what he claimed was “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States” in Zimbabwe was, in the words of his declaration, not a threat to Zimbabwe or Zimbabweans; but “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States”.

The US government dealt with that alleged ‘threat’ through Executive Order 13288 of 6 March 2003, Executive Order 13391 of 22 November 2005 and Executive Order 13466 of 25 July 2008, all of them by George W. Bush, which imposed a panoply of visa restrictions and economic sanctions on government and Zanu PF officials, their families – as well as anyone else who was deemed to be working or associated with them in any way, shape or form – and a range of key commercial, state and non-state entities across the economy.

Significantly, last week on 4 March 2024, the current US President Joseph Biden issued Executive Order 14118 in which he found that, ”the declaration of a national emergency in Executive Order 13288 of March 6, 2003, with respect to the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons…as relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13391 of November 22, 2005, and as expanded by Executive Order 13469 of July 25, 2008, should no longer be in effect… the declaration of a national emergency in Executive Order 13288 is no longer needed…Accordingly, I hereby terminate the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13288, and revoke that order, Executive Order 13391, and Executive Order 13469.”

So, if after 21 years, the US declaration of a national emergency on Zimbabwe in Executive Order 13288 of March 6, 2003 “should no longer be in effect’, and “is no longer needed”

and therefore Executive Orders 13288, 13391, and 13469 are revoked, as they have been, what does this development mean, what are its implications? The implications of this development are highlighted below, while the meaning thereof is addressed in the conclusion of this write-up.

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