US lifts sanctions on Zim after two decades

Zim Now Writer

The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has announced the removal of Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations.

This marks the end of a two-decade long era of sanctions imposed on the southern African nation.

The sanctions were first implemented in 2003 through Executive Order 13288, citing concerns about the Zimbabwean government’s actions undermining democratic processes and institutions. The order was followed by two more executive orders that expanded the scope of the sanctions.

The decision to lift the sanctions came after President Biden issued Executive Order 14118 on March 4, 2024, terminating the original national emergency declaration. The new order revokes the previous executive orders that authorized the sanctions program.

While the sanctions are lifted, OFAC clarifies that any enforcement actions or investigations related to violations that occurred during the sanction period will continue. Additionally, the termination does not affect any rights or penalties incurred before March 4, 2024.

Following Biden’s approval of a new Executive Order terminating the Zimbabwe sanctions programme in March, the US went on to sanction eleven Zimbabwean individuals and three entities, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, under the Global Magnitsky sanctions programme for their alleged connection to corruption or serious human rights abuses.

While this development is expected to have a positive impact on Zimbabwe’s economy, potentially opening doors for increased trade and investment, government officials from Zimbabwe argue that all sanctions, whether targeted or not, must be removed.

President Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba, said: “Nothing to celebrate in a tardy, piecemeal dismantling of an illegality which has made us suffer for over two decades. Sanctions must simply go, in toto. Nothing less will do.”