HARARE Financial and visa sanctions imposed on President Robert MugabeA fortnight ago, a US senator, Jim Inhofe who is also a member of the US Senates foreign relations committee introduced a bill that proposes to repeal and amend sections of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Recovery Act of 2001.??
Inhofe, whose bill is one of several dealing with the sanctions to be put before the US House, said his Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2010 was motivated by the positive changes brought about by the formation of the unity government last year between President Robert Mugabe and his former rivals.??
But Ray told an editors roundtable in Harare that the bills that have been proposed by different senators and congressmen did not reflect US policy towards Zimbabwe.??He said although the sanctions were under constant review, the decision to remove them would be influenced by progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and respect for human rights.??
It is safe to say they (sanctions) will remain in place until there is real and tangible reforms that benefit the people of Zimbabwe, Ray said.??
He said there was no guarantee the three bills that had been proposed would lead to the lifting of the sanctions.??
Ray said the mere introduction of the bill to Senate or Congress did not amount to concrete steps to remove the sanctions.??He explained that for the bills to become law they will go through several complex stages that take time and a lot of scrutiny.
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