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Fungi Kwaramba Political Editor

ADJUSTMENTS to the illegal United States (US) imposed sanctions are meaningless, as long as President Mnangagwa remains on the list while local companies are also constrained to trade freely on the international market, analysts have said.

On Monday, the US, in a quintessential case of the same old wine in new bottles, reviewed its illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe where it transferred President Mnangagwa and 10 other leaders from the Executive Order  form of sanctions to the equally punitive Global Magnitsky programme.

On top of that, the US still maintains illegal embargoes through the nefarious Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (ZIDERA).

The measures that were announced by US President Joe Biden on Monday do not in any way, form or substance help Zimbabwe in the Debt.

Instead, the unsavoury sanctions tag remains, sullying Zimbabwe’s image and consequently damaging the country’s reputation and its access to vital lines of credit.

The analysts said the US must move away from its carrot-and-stick approach and wholesomely remove the illegal sanctions without any conditionality as pontificated by the Western world and their local surrogates.

Yesterday, US Charge d’Affaires Mr Laurence Socha struggled to explain what his country means when it says sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe are targeted when in reality they have had devastating effects on ordinary Zimbabweans.

Instead of answering the question posed by The Herald, Mr Socha went on a confusing rant which was far from addressing what he had been asked.

During the dictatorial press conference, Mr Socha maintained that the US would not lift the embargo until their requirements had been satisfied, notwithstanding that Zimbabwe is a sovereign nation.

Economic analyst Mr Eddie Cross dismissed the western peddled notion that the sanctions are targeted as a fallacy that cannot stand scrutiny.

“There was a flurry of interest (on Monday) when the State Department issued a notice that the ordinary sanctions on Zimbabwe were being scrapped and the list of the individuals and companies to remain under US sanctions was being adjusted. It caused some excitement but the reality is that they changed very little, kept the worst elements of the sanctions in place, and even reinforced their policy of isolation and coercion for change,” he said.

“It is clear that the ZIDERA Act has been kept in place for the 22nd year, as such it must be one of the longest-running sanctions programmes ever. I was surprised when the State Department described the ZDERA restrictions as not being “sanctions”.

“Under this Act, the United States explicitly denies Zimbabwe access to all Multilateral lending and imposes financial penalties on banks which trade with Zimbabweans under sanction. In consequence, Zimbabwe banks do not have significant relations with international banks described in the industry as ‘Correspondent Banks’.

“So, to make a transfer in US dollars we have to use an intermediate Bank that is not so restricted and our Banks have stated that this costs them up to US$1 billion a year. That might not seem a lot of money to the USA but it’s 12 percent of our export earnings. It could have fully paid our national debt over the past 20 years.

“Locking us out of the global financial system controlled by the Multilaterals has far-reaching consequences. These institutions were created after the Second World War to help countries manage their international finances. They were also designed to help developing countries like ours deal with serious problems and to manage debt.”

In a report compiled by the United Nations Special Rapporteur Professor Alena Douhan in 2021, it emerged that the illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the US and her Western allies had cost the economy US$100 billion, while the cost of borrowing is over 1 000 percent higher than the average in most countries.

This has worsened the burden on the Government’s to provide basic social services such as water, health, and education, a mess that has ruined the livelihoods of the country’s populace.

Catholic University lecturer Dr Tongai Danha said the unilateral, unjust, economic sanctions remain an albatross that has to be removed unconditionally.

“The recent piecemeal adjustments to sanctions by the United States towards Zimbabwe, while retaining President Mnangagwa and other persons on the targeted sanctions list, raise several considerations from an international relations perspective,” said Dr Danha.

“Firstly, the legality of sanctions is a contentious issue.  Unilateral sanctions imposed by one country on another may violate international law, particularly if they lack a United Nations mandate which is the case with the US sanctions on Zimbabwe as retained.

“Secondly, the motivation behind imposing sanctions is often multifaceted. In the case of Zimbabwe, geopolitical and strategic interests are what influenced the decision to impose whilst seemingly adjusting sanctions on Zimbabwe. The interests being served are not Zimbabwean interests but the US interest, it’s not all about Zimbabwean citizens interests but those of the USA. This should be clear.

“Another issue to consider is the effectiveness of sanctions in achieving their intended objectives is a matter of debate. Whether imposed on President Mnangagwa, sanctions have limited impact and as usual they harm ordinary citizens and exacerbate socioeconomic challenges for the ordinary, the suffering caused by sanctions continues.

“Furthermore, the president of the country represents the country, sanctioning him is sanctioning the country and this will continue to have a serious impact on the country’s political economy and national development. The sanctions will impact a country’s economy by restricting trade, investment, and financial flows because, above all, it is the president who signs and/or approves international partnership.”

An analyst, Dr Augustine Tirivangana, said the position being peddled by the US is shameful.

“The hands of the US are far from clean. ZIDERA, being an Act that is devoid of UN endorsement is illegal and with this background, the US is in no moral position to lecture Zimbabwe on principles of democracy and human rights,” he said.

“To insinuate use of pressure, whatever its form, is a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Zimbabwe, the SADC, the AU and indeed of the UN Charter on sovereignty of nations. Such aggression deserves condemnation at every level.”

The analysts said it is the same old song and Zimbabwe should continue advocating for the total removal of sanctions, on international platforms and the SADC set Anti-Sanctions Day, which is October 25.