Thread by @Chinamasa_PA

On 22 October 2021 a high powered ZanuPF delegation led by Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi our Secretary for External Relations & comprising the National Secretary for Finance, who is also the Acting National Political Commissar, Cde Patrick Chinamasa,

...our Secretary for Indigenisation & Economic Empowerment & Acting Secretary for Information & Publicity Cde Mike Bimha, the Secretary for Legal Affairs Cde Paul Mangwana, the Secretary for Science & Technology Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa,

& accompanied by Directors Cdes Dzora, Dr Mushonga & others met UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights to Zimbabwe, Her Excellency Prof Alena Douhan, at ZanuPF HQ the home of the Revolutionary Mass Party

& ably presented the case for the unconditional removal of the entirety of the illegal sanctions regime. The presentation of the delegation centred on the deleterious effects of sanctions on Zimbabwe’s economy ...

& in particular how the illegal sanctions have played havoc on the education & health sectors & on people’s livelihoods. Suffice to highlight the salient points made by the delegation as follows:

a) Sanctions were unilaterally imposed by the US, UK, EU & white Commonwealth countries: Canada, Australia & New Zealand through legislation under their respective jurisdictions & without the authority of the UN Security Council & are therefore illegal under international law;

b) The illegal sanctions were imposed in a bid to reverse the land redistribution programme embarked upon by the ZanuPF revolutionary Government & were with the sole purpose of effecting regime change to install into power their local puppets;

c) The USA passed the Zidera legislation that obliged USA representatives sitting on the boards of the World Bank (WB) & its subsidiary the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IMF & the African Development Bank (AfDB) to veto any extension of credit to Zimbabwe.

Although entitled to benefits accruing to other shareholders Zimbabwe has, since the imposition of sanctions, been unable to access infrastructural loans from the WB, private sector loans from the IFC, balance of payment support from the IMF or development finance from the AfDB.

d) At the time sanctions were imposed the Zimbabwean economy, in particular the mining & manufacturing sectors, was owned by investors from Western countries & taking their cue from their mother countries they shut down their operations & disinvested from Zimbabwe ...

... resulting in the throwing of 2.8m workers employed in the formal sector of the economy into the streets giving rise to the growth of the informal economy & the immediate collapse of social services in particular the education & health sectors.

e) Correspondent banking relationships between Zimbabwean financial institutions with international financial institutions were cut off overnight to impede the free flow of international trade. Trade between Zimbabwe & other countries was now being undertaken at a higher cost;

f) Access to international capital whether for retooling, capitalisation or for working was cut off. For example during the era of the late Cde Bernard Chidzero as Finance Minister Zimbabwe enjoyed a credit line with Deutsch Bank of Germany to the tune of US$3-4bn annually ...

... to finance the foreign currency requirements of the mining, agricultural, tourism & manufacturing sectors. Because of the sanctions, the credit line was frozen without any forewarning;

g) What international trade remained was further obstructed by USA OFAC regulations which seized Zimbabwe exports receipts invariably denominated in US Dollars (being the currency under which most international trade is undertaken)...

... We have yet to quantify the extent of Zimbabwe assets or US cash dollar inflows destined for Zimbabwe that have been seized or interdicted by the USA Treasury under their obnoxious OFAC regime;

h) As His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa readily concedes Western imposed sanctions are indeed targeted & using the metaphor of a lion going after its prey the sanctions are targeted for the jugular vein of the Zimbabwe economy ...

i.e. local fertiliser companies & financial institutions lending to agriculture, the clear motive being to cripple the agricultural sector thereby justify their racist narrative that blacks can’t commercially farm.

The Tony Blair opposition to land redistribution was founded on the premise that blacks can’t be farm owners & must forever remain hewers of wood & drawers of water;

i) In this digital era sanctions have had the disastrous consequences of excluding Zimbabwe from international digital payment systems thereby impeding trade & rendering Zimbabwe an international outcast or pariah state...

The undesirable outcome of this is that a lot of trade is conducted in cash & eludes the scrutiny of the tax collector & law enforcement agencies itself a conducive environment that promotes corruption which becomes difficult to detect.

j) By placing Zimbabwe under illegal sanctions the sanctions imposing countries have indirectly placed Sadc, Comesa countries & indeed the whole African continent under sanctions. There is no country that can operate as an island...

The interdependence among & between nations is such that an injury to one is an injury to all of them. The sanctions against Zimbabwe impact negatively against countries in the region & on the continent;

k) Apart from the declared sanctions, Zimbabwe is also wilting under what I call undeclared sanctions. The US being the reigning sole superpower has successfully intimidated countries big or small that want to do business with or invest in Zimbabwe to refrain from doing so...

... for fear of themselves being visited with similar punitive measures. These undeclared sanctions have rendered Zimbabwe a Pariah State in the comity of nations. This is why His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa has embarked on an aggressive Foreign Policy drive of Engagement

& Re-Engagement to bring Zimbabwe back into the Comity of Nations as an active member;
The EU boasts that their sanctions against Zimbabwe are limited to embargo against importation of military hardware. Firstly that is a lie.

The EU does not make reference to the undeclared sanctions they have imposed against Zimbabwe such as denying Zimbabwe access to international capital & cutting off correspondent banking relationships under threat of US sanctions against their own entities.

Secondly the embargo against importation of military materials is meant to undermine our ability to defend ourselves against the machinations of these countries pursuing a regime change agenda against Zimbabwe. What better way to achieve this than tying our hands behind our backs

& then unleashing against us their proxy political party hooligans & surrogate NGOs & CSOs. Let’s just imagine the injustice of it all. The UK sells us Hunter aircraft jets & the next day they impose an embargo against importation of spare parts to repair & service the aircraft.

Meanwhile the aircraft become obsolete, antiquated equipment but notwithstanding the UK expects us to service the debt arising from the purchase of the redundant equipment. That is a good example of how big powers lord over small nations with impunity. PASI NEMASANCTIONS!

The clear intentions behind the sanctions were to effect regime change & as the late UK Foreign Secretary in the Blair administration put it unambiguously the objective of the sanctions was to make “Your people stone you (i.e. ZanuPF) in the streets.”

The late UN Secretary General Kofi Annan correctly characterised the nature of punitive sanctions as “a blunt weapon that destroys the weak and the vulnerable”. That is Zimbabwe’s sad experience over the past 21 years of punitive sanctions. Sanctions must go. Pasi nemaSanctions!