The new sanctions regime against senior Zimbabwean government officials and their enablers is new wine in an old wineskin and will achieve nothing in bringing about change in the country, analysts said.
On March 4, the United States government imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his wife Auxilia, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, and businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei along with his wife Sandra Mbonga, senior government officials, and alleged business associates. Charged with corruption – the draining of public resources for personal gain – and human rights violations.
This reform repeals the old Executive Sanctions Order introduced in 2003 and replaces it with the Global Magnitsky Sanctions Program, focusing directly on senior individuals responsible for corruption and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
“These illicit activities support and contribute to a global criminal network of bribery, smuggling and money laundering that is impoverishing communities in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa and other parts of the world,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.
The United States stressed that “the sanctions imposed on these individuals and entities do not represent sanctions on Zimbabwe or its people,” but local analysts indicated that little would change to end the suffering of Zimbabweans or the targeting of human rights activists.
“We, the oppressed masses, believe that targeted sanctions have not worked against the regime. “In reality, the corrupt and failed government used the sanctions as an excuse for its failures,” Future Msebele, a political analyst, said in an interview with CITE.
Mspile said senior Zanu PF figures had developed a “complex network of unions” to breach or bypass sanctions, and continued to plunder state coffers.
The political analyst said: “There are many loopholes, weak implementation of sanctions, lack of a clear strategy, and weak communication between political goals, which undermined the effectiveness of the sanctions.”
He added: “We are still at the same point, if not worse off. We still have human rights violations, and we still demand political and electoral reforms. It is time to think about alternative ways to deal with corrupt regimes. Sanctions have proven ineffective, and the goals have remained achieved.” The underlying policy is elusive.
Another political analyst, Bernard Magogo, agrees with the opinion that “nothing has changed except the modernization of sanctions,” but the political and economic situation in the country is still “critical.”
“Sanctions have been lifted on a number of people who were in power before, and there is now a distinction between these small fish from the past, and the big targets that are now leading,” Magogo said, noting that President Mnangagwa’s spokesman, George Charamba. He also hinted on his social media account that there is nothing new because the president and his vice president are always subject to US sanctions.
The presidential spokesman said: “It is misleading for the media to use the slanderous statement issued yesterday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding the two, along with other Zimbabweans, to create the impression that this is a new development. This is simply not the case, with US hostilities continuing amidst symbolic yesterday.
Magogo said that looking at Charamba’s comments on a social media platform, the Zimbabwean government was not really shaken.
“Another point to consider is the repeal of the 2003 Executive Order, which has been repeatedly renewed in subsequent years to highlight human rights and democratic reforms, demonstrating that the influence of civil society organizations, activists or opposition politicians is diminishing, which is “What a setback.” For the sake of the homeland. Magogo said this could mean that human rights violations will continue unabated.
On the other hand, Ifithole Maphosa said that as much as the sanctions regime appeared to be hurting officials less, the US was clearly signaling that they were still not receptive to Manangagwa.
“This could damage his reputation because the world, even though they accept the outcome of the presidential election — meaning they can’t change the outcome of the election — they don’t want to be associated with someone who rigs the election. “This also means that the world cannot accept him assuming a third term,” the opposition politician said. Site
