By Elizabeth Sitotombe

WHEN the US and the EU first announced their intention to sanction a ‘few’ individuals and entities, many Zimbabweans could neither understand nor fathom the gravity of it all.

That is until the effects started seeping into each and every home. 

Sanctions were felt when one wanted a simple basic meal, or when one lost a loved one due to the shortages of drugs at a local hospital, even when one won an international award so rightly deserved or worked hard for, he/she was disqualified on the basis of coming from a sanctioned country. 

In 2017, child rights campaigner Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda was successfully nominated for a CNN Heroes Programme award for her work, but she was disqualified because the country she hailed from happened to be Zimbabwe.

It became apparent sanctions were not targeted at a few individuals but that the country had fallen prey to greedy vultures.

To make matters worse, a few of the country’s turncoats flew half-way across the world to sup with the devil.

Sanctions have made it difficult for the Government to provide the most basic services such as education, healthcare and potable water for ordinary Zimbabweans.

To date, the UK and the US defend their illegal embargo by saying the sanctions are not against the country as a whole but a small group of individuals they allege ‘undermine’ democratic processes. 

“To be absolutely clear, the UK has targeted sanctions on five Zimbabwean officials and one entity for human rights violations and serious corruption……trade between UK and Zimbabwe was 175 million USD last year. We are working hard to increase this. These measures do not affect trade or economic development. The UK also provides considerable development assistance to education and healthcare in Zimbabwe — 114 million USD this year. This is assistance in support of Zimbabwe’s own National Development Strategy. We want to see Zimbabwe succeed. Anything to suggest that the UK wants to harm Zimbabwe or ordinary Zimbabweans is simply false…,” read a statement by the UK Embassy.

This could not be further from the truth!

The US Embassy also released a statement claiming they imposed sanctions on 73 individuals and 37 entities — 110 out of nearly 16 million Zimbabweans. All are said to have either undermined democracy, violated human rights or facilitated corruption. 

“We are not engaged in a comprehensive effort to close the Zimbabwean economy. We don’t sanction banks, we aren’t stopping certain types of transactions,” read part of the US Embassy statement.

The Institute for Security Studies research in 2020 found that investors were put off by the high risk premium placed on the country because of the targeted US illegal economic sanctions.

A number of banks cut ties with Zimbabwean banks because of the onerous task of complying with US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations. OFAC penalises any US company or individual who does business with a sanctioned individual, entity or country. 

Some banks have been fined for processing payments coming from Zimbabwe, such that paying fees for children learning abroad became a mammoth task.

In 2017, CBZ was slapped with a staggering US$3,8 billion fine by OFAC for facilitating transactions on behalf of ZB Bank which was then a specified institution under ZDERA.

Many companies chose to avoid doing business with Zimbabwean companies because of the exhausting process of checking if entities are related to a sanctioned person or company because the risk of being caught on the wrong side of OFAC are high hence many companies in Zimbabwe have gone under, resulting in many Zimbabweans losing their jobs.

Local companies are failing to access loans from outside because they are considered as high risk when coming from Zimbabwe. 

They end up being charged high interest rates which discourage them from borrowing; in the event that they do so, their products become expensive affecting citizens in the form of high prices.

The irony of the above US Embassy statement is obviously lost on the self-serving gullible Uncle Sam! 

Sanctions are affecting Zimbabweans and all that are associated with it. Zimbabweans are missing out on scholarships, awards opportunities, investment opportunities and lines of credit, among others, for the simple reason that they are from Zimbabwe.

The fact that we are on illegal economic sanctions increases our risk profile. Companies have also found it difficult to move money into Zimbabwe; let us take ZISCO for instance. The company that wanted to finance the resuscitation of ZISCO, Essar Global, failed to transfer the money needed because of OFAC.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) suffered at the hands of OFAC in 2013 when it secured a US$2 million loan from the PTA Bank for plant rehabilitation and raw materials for Olivine Industries which OFAC seized.

IDC lost in excess US$20 million in OFAC seizures.

The American body froze US$5 million for ZFC which affected Zimbabwe’s agricultural production.

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO), through which the Government funds activities of small business, had its US$3 million locked by OFAC.

SMEDCO enables retrenched workers to support their families through enterprise; it was a blow for many households awaiting those funds.

Many jobs could have been created for the individuals who have flocked to neighbouring countries in search of jobs to sustain their families. 

The President of the DRC, also chairperson of SADC, His Excellency Felix Tshisekedi said: “SADC is deeply concerned at the claim that the sanctions are of a ‘targeted nature’ and are aimed at unilaterally punishing a few individuals. The reality on the ground is that there is a spill over and contagion effect on the rest of the country, in particular by imposing a blanket negative perception about Zimbabwe across the world, in particular in the sensitive global financial markets.

This perception results in the country being unable to attract much needed foreign direct investment, lines of credit and other financial services that are essential to the socio-economic development of the country.

This is more concerning given the need for rapid global recovery from at least two years of the socially and economically crippling COVID-19 pandemic which has now been compounded by a general rise in inflation across the world. Zimbabwe, like most developing countries, is particularly vulnerable to these trends and the unilateral sanctions worsen the plight of her economy.

Zimbabwe is expected to hold regular national elections in mid-2023. In this context, SADC appeals to those who have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe to give space to citizens of the country to exercise their democratic rights and not use sanctions as a covert mechanism to effect regime change.”

Sanctions are hampering Zimbabwe’s road to recovery.

Impact on mining sector

There is limited funding to recapitalise the mining sector as most financiers stopped providing lines of credit to the industry.

In the mining sector sanctions have reduced ability to access new markets and market share as it eliminated the US and the EU as its markets.

There is reduced negotiation clout, competitiveness and choice as it could not access essential services like banking logistics and marketing journals from the US and the EU.

There is also loss of clients as major corporations are unwilling to deal with the miners’ marketing companies.

Impact on investment and growth

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stimulates economic growth and employment creation in any economy. FDI also positively impacts the country’s balance of payment position. The negative perception that has come with sanctions has negatively impacted FDI inflows as investors tend to shy from economies that are perceived as risky.

Health, water and sanitation infrastructure

Water and sanitation infrastructure virtually collapsed, resulting in the outbreak of cholera and typhoid. The collapsed infrastructure is largely a result of constrained capacity to provide adequate clean and safe water to communities. Water treatment plants have not been upgraded to match increased demand. 

We move on to the Anti-Sanction Day held on October 25, the day SADC set aside as a solidarity day against illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and resolved to conduct various activities in their respective countries to unequivocally call for the immediate removal of the sanctions.

Multitudes took part in the anti-sanctions solidarity march.

This year Anti-Sanctions Day was commemorated under the theme: “Enhancing Zimbabwe’s Resilience through Economic Development and Engagement and Re-Engagement.”

Hordes of people thronged the US Embassy in Harare, calling for the removal of illegal sanctions.

In Mashonaland East, citizens gathered in Marondera where they marched from Marondera CBD to Rudhaka Stadium in commemoration of the Anti-Sanctions Day.

In Mashonaland Central, an anti-sanctions march was held in Bindura.

Mashonaland West Province’s march took place in Chinhoyi.

In Bulawayo, the anti-sanctions march kicked off at Mhlahlandlela.

Zimbabweans in South Africa marched to the US Embassy in Pretoria to demand the removal of sanctions.

Church leaders in the country unanimously agreed that sanctions are a form of punishment meant to cripple the country’s economy and called for their removal with immediate effect.

A gala was held in Chitungwiza where an exciting line-up of artistes performed. The people of Zimbabwe have come to realise the truth of what American illegally targeted sanctions really stand for.

Sanctions are affecting the ordinary Zimbabwean.

The Russian Embassy also condemned the wicked practice of using unilateral illegal economic sanctions in violation of the UN Charter. 

Russians are also victims of the Western-imposed illegal sanctions but have turned the tables and weaponised the same to punish the West.

US Senator Chris Coons who pushed for amendments to ZDERA said relieving sanctions would provide significant economic lift for Zimbabwe, because it would then encourage foreign direct investment, re-establishment of robust economic ties and it would bring engagement with the Western world for Zimbabwe. 

We once again applaud His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa for his zeal to ensure things run smoothly against the backdrop of these punitive illegal economic sanctions.

Under the Second Republic, it has become possible to achieve many things even under the harshest of conditions. 

However, the removal of these illegal economic sanctions would certainly allow Zimbabweans unfettered relief to economically develop.