Zimbabwe’s permanent secretary in the ministry of
information Nick Mangwana has defended his government's US$500,000 deal with a
United States-based lobby firm canvassing for the removal of targeted sanctions
imposed on top Zanu PF officials to be removed by Washington.
But human activists have criticised the deal as a waste of
scarce resources in a country where more than 5 million people are food
insecure.
Zimbabwe has engaged a man regarded as the most powerful
lobbyist in Washington, Brian Ballard, linked to President Donald Trump’s 2016
election campaign and the president’s 2020 re-election bid. His mission is to
have targeted sanctions on 141 individuals and entities in Zimbabwe removed.
Mangwana told VOA Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Zimbabwe
prioritises international engagement.
“What I can only say is that Zimbabwe is leaving no stone
unturned in its efforts to ensure that the illegal sanctions imposed upon the
nation are removed. So we are doing everything that’s possible, everything that
is legal to make sure that the livelihoods of Zimbabweans are improved, and we
can only do if we can trade freely, if we can be able to sell our minerals at
the appropriate price, on the open market, rather to go using third parties and
so forth, losing money. Buying things and selling at a premium. It doesn’t
work. So we need sanctions removed.”
U.S-based newspaper Politico reports that former State
Department official in the Bill Clinton administration, James Rubin, will be
the lead lobbyist for Zimbabwe.
Director of Vanguard Africa Jeff Smith criticized the deal
saying it shows everything that is wrong about Washington DC.
“I think in summation, it really is a very apt
manifestation of all that is wrong with Washington DC at this point. You have
this lobby firm with obvious close links to the administration representing one
of the more repressive countries, not only in Africa but the entire world –
this is a government that has opened fire on its citizens in the streets, it
has brazenly disregarded regional and international norms and standards, for
four decades now. People point to the fact that there is a new president at the
helm but lest we forget, he’s been there or was there, by the side of president
Robert Mugabe for four decades, so this is nothing new in terms of the
dispensation in Harare, but definitely a new development in terms of the
battleground and their new allies here in Washington DC.”
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