US says its new approach will foster a ‘constructi...

US says its new approach will foster a ‘constructive relationship’

**US Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires, Laurence Socha**

Nyashadzashe Ndoro

The United States government says its latest approach towards Zimbabwe is aimed at addressing human rights concerns while also encouraging responsible business investment and a “constructive relationship” between the people of the two countries.

The US Department of the Treasury sanctioned 11 individuals, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and three entities under the Global Magnitsky Program. “The action aims to hold these individuals accountable for alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses,” the US governments said.

The US, however, lifted broader economic sanctions that had been in place against Zimbabwe since 2003 saying the “move signifies a shift towards targeted sanctions and an effort to promote legitimate business opportunities in the country”.

Addressing journalists in Harare, US Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires Laurence Socha said: “The United States is committed to ensuring our sanctions are timely, relevant and targeted against individuals responsible for corruption and serious human rights abuses. In Zimbabwe, we continue to witness gross abuses of political, economic and human rights.”

“The designations target senior officials and private sector actors presently connected to corruption and human rights abuses,” Socha explained.

“It was hard under a previous programme titled ‘The Zimbabwe Sanctions Program’ to get away from perceptions that you could not do business in Zimbabwe. That’s not true.”

The US official emphasised that these changes are intended to encourage responsible investment while still holding individuals accountable for human rights violations. They hope the new approach will foster a “constructive relationship” between the US and Zimbabwe, ultimately benefiting all Zimbabweans.

“We hope that business, financial institutions and investors have a new look at Zimbabwe’s markets and connections with its people,” Socha said.

“Lastly, we see this as an opening for a constructive relationship between the United States and Zimbabwe so that all 16 million people here have an opportunity to prosper.”

Zanu PF director for information Farai Marapira urged the US government to remove sanctions on Zimbabweans completely. “It is a vindication in the sense that the open-door policy of President Mnangagwa has forced the Americans to resist the sanctions and try to sanitise them,” he said.

“But sanctions are vindictive and aggressive. So, as long as we remain with any sanctions against anyone in Zimbabwe, especially our leader and senior members of government, then we still have not made much progress. But this attempt by the Americans to try and sanitise their sanctions regime is the sign of the successes in our foreign policy.”