Mystery sanctions

ct of the matter is that no country in the world has imposed economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. Our problems are home-made, by Mugabe and Zanu (PF).
The only trade embargo is military – whereby the army and airforce cannot buy weapons of war from these countries. Which is just as well because we know from bitter experience that the government would not hesitate to use them against its own people. They would be used for repression – not for defence or aggression – hence the arms embargo.
Nobody in the region wants to fight against Zimbabwe. Mugabe is the only aggressor. Not content with sending his troops into Matabeleland in the 1980s, he has caused mayhem in Mozambique and the Zimbabwean army, backed by the airforce, marched into the DRC years ago.
The looting of diamonds and other precious resources that took place under cover of this armed aggression, purportedly to prop up a fellow African dictator, continues to this very day.
The government is even embarrassed to tell us how many Zimbabweans were killed during the DRC war, and are now buried somewhere in the jungles there.
More than 200 British companies have investments in Zimbabwe and they continue to do businesses in the mining, banking, financial services, construction, manufacturing and agro industries – without any hindrance from “economic sanctions”.
Zimbabwean firms can buy anything they require from Britain, the EU or the USA – provided they can find the foreign currency of course. In fact, despite Mugabe’s much-touted Look East policy, Britain and the EU remain our latest trading partners.
They are also the largest donors – both to government and the NGO community – and have been ever since independence. Many Zimbabweans are alive today only thanks to the generosity of these countries.
The only sanctions that have ever existed against the Mugabe government are targeted, personal travel and financial restrictions against Mugabe himself, his wife and his cronies. All this means is that they cannot travel to he countries concerned, nor access their ill-gotten gains stashed away in foreign bank accounts located in those countries.
The president can no longer purchase his hand-tailored suits at Saville Row and the First Lady can no longer indulge her passion for shopping at Harrods. That’s all these “sanctions” mean.
For Mugabe to continue to pontificate that the Zimbabwean economy is in trouble because of these sanctions is patently ridiculous.