EU differs with AU on lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe

Mugabe unsuccessfully used various international platforms to campaign for the removal of the sanction.

“Isolation is hindering Zimbabwe’s transformation. Lifting sanctions and increasing international investment will speed up reforms and actually enhance protection of human rights,” said Abdiwahab Abdisamad of SouthLink Consultants in Nairobi and a commentator on continental issues.

A third of Zimbabwe’s population (5.7 million people) is considered extremely poor by the World Bank. Inflation rates reached 230 per cent in July this year and food prices increased by 319 per cent, the bank reported.

Mnangangwa’s government has hired at least five public relations firms from the US and Britain to lobby for the removal of sanctions which Western diplomats in Harare say are being used as an excuse for Zimbabwe’s failure to reverse economic collapse and clampdown on corruption.

“Blaming sanctions is a convenient scapegoat to distract the public from the real reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic challenges—corruption, economic mismanagement, and failure to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law,” Brian Nichols, the US ambassador to Zimbabwe said.

He said there are only 141 Zimbabwean people and companies on the US sanctions’ list and there was no US trade embargo against Zimbabwe.

He said investors were turning to other promising opportunities in the region, waiting for Zimbabwe to embrace political and economic reforms that would make it a more attractive destination.

“American companies are interested in investing in Zimbabwe but are deterred by the massive levels of corruption, economic uncertainty, and weak rule of law,” Nichols said. Zimbabwe is ranked 160 out of 175 nations on Transparency International’s corruption list.

It is estimated it loses $1 billion per year, about four per cent of the $26 billion economy, to corruption every year.

“The country is losing large sums of money due to corruption and poor economic policies, not sanctions imposed to its officials,” US Assistant Secretary in the State Department Bureau for African Affairs said.- East African

See also:

The truth about sanctions on Zimbabwe

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