Berlin protests over threats on firm

In a letter to Zimbabwes foreign affairs ministry, Berlin said the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) that campaigns for black economic empowerment threatened executives at DHLs Harare offices, demanding that the company should appoint a Zimbabwean to head its local operations or failure of which it should leave the southern African country.
“It is with great concern that we learned about the threats which were put forward against a German company in Harare by members of a group called Affirmative Action Group, Matthias Schumacher, first secretary and deputy head of mission wrote in letter dated August 3.
Schumacher said employees at DHL felt intimidated by the actions of the AAG which were followed by negative coverage of the German-owned firm by state media.
“The company’s interim director from South Africa was reproached for not employing a Zimbabwean citizen as its future director and for the fact that the company was not partially owned by Zimbabweans, the embassy said.
The threat culminated in the demand to “disinvest” under these conditions. Very negative and biased news-coverage on the company by the state-media followed suit. As a consequence the company’s employees do strongly feel intimidated,” it added.
DHL Harare provides work for more than 100 Zimbabweans, ensuring the livelihood of approximately 500 people, Schumacher said, adding that the company has stayed engaged in the country despite the, over the last few years, constantly deteriorating economical and political climate.
This kind of action highly endangers our recent efforts to resuscitate Zimbabwean-German business relations which are part of the broader relations between Zimbabwe and the EU (European Union).
The German embassy said actions by the AAG a group whose members are closely linked to President Robert Mugabes ZANU PF party could affect Zimbabwes ability to attract foreign investment.
It said: As an Embassy we cannot credibly lobby for German investment to come back to Zimbabwe as long as such harassment takes place.
It is our utmost conviction that the government of Zimbabwe disapproves of such acts as much as we do. We therefore are strongly optimistic that all the necessary measures will be taken by the ministry to prevent this kind of harassment from occurring again.
Zimbabwes Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi confirmed seeing the letter but refused to disclose what action, if any, Harare would take.
The southern African countrys economy, which has been on a free-fall for the past decade, badly needs foreign investors.
In June, Tsvangirai travelled to Europe seeking to mend relations between Harare and Brussels which had deteriorated after the bloc imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his previous ZANU PF government over allegations of human rights abuses.
Erstwhile enemies Mugabe and Tsvangirai formed a fragile coalition government in February to try to reverse Zimbabwes multi-faceted crisis.