Zim sanctions ‘self-imposed’ says diplomat

The French Ambassador, Laurent Delahousse, said this at a international dialogue organised by the Southern African Economy Series and the National Endowment for Democracy in Harare recently.

“Zimbabwe should adopt a culture of accountability, deal with corruption, lack of transparency in diamond deals and unclear indigenisation policy and avoid blaming the imagined Western sanctions,” Delahousse said, dismissing Zanu (PF) allegations that targeted sanctions had crippled the economy.

He said irregular conduct by the government was the worst form of sanctions that had to be dealt with if Zimbabwe was to move forward. He urged the state to engage with the international community while at the same time dealing with the ‘self-imposed sanctions’.

According to Delahousse, Zimbabwe was doing itself a disservice by failing to present its assets abroad.

He said the government had a lot of work to do in order to convince the world that it was not a risky investment destination.

The Indian Ambassador, Jeitendra Tripathi, said restrictive measures simply worsened the economic freefall and advised Zimbabwe to adopt sustainable economic policies and avoid the ‘one size fits all type of investor policies’.

“India has policies which allow for 100 percent foreign direct investment in the country without permission from the Central Bank. All that is needed is to inform the institution within 30 days,” Tripathi said.

Zanu (PF) continues to be obsessed with the sanctions mantra, which it says crippled its efforts to resuscitate the economy.