THE failed attempt to smuggle 6kg of gold to Dubai by Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya was this week discussed in the British House of Lords, with indications the British government could impose more sanctions on Zimbabwe if corruption and human rights abuses do not end.
On Monday Rushwaya was intercepted with gold bars in her
handbag worth US$333 000 and failed to produce the paperwork authorising the
export of the gold.
It has emerged the smuggling attempt involved a whole
syndicate of individuals, including businesspeople, two officers in the Central
Intelligence Organisation and two senior police officers. Six people have since
been arrested and are assisting police with investigations.
British peer Anthony St John raised the issue of Rushwaya,
asking how the British government would respond to the unbridled corruption as
manifested by the former Zimbabwe Football Association of Zimbabwe chief
executive officer escapade.
“Is the minister aware that President Mnangagwa’s niece was
arrested in Harare yesterday (Monday) for attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold to
Dubai?” he asked Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Overseas
Territories and Sustainable Development Elizabeth Sugg.
He asked what measures the British government and the
European Union could take to ensure the independence of the judiciary in
Zimbabwe, and what measures could be taken to encourage the South African
government to use their political and economic leverage with Zimbabwe to help
resolve the crisis?
Sugg expressed ignorance over the smuggling issue, but
pointed out that the British government was “working closely with our partners
in the EU to try to avoid corruption” and would continue to do so with the
African Union and South Africa to try to reduce corruption in Zimbabwe.
Other legislators, including Zimbabwean-born Labour Party
politician Peter Hain, asked what specific steps the British government was
taking to sanction those responsible for brutality on civilians in Zimbabwe.
Sugg said Number 10 Downing Street was seriously
considering imposing more sanctions on Zimbabwe.
The British government, she said, would soon impose more
punitive sanctions on Zimbabwe should gross human rights violations and corruption
persist.
Despite having promised a clean break from the old regime
of his late predecessor Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa has continued on the same
repressive path which saw London, along with other Western powers, imposing
sanctions on Harare at the turn of the millennium.
Although the British government initially warmed up to
Mnangagwa, promising to pour in millions of pounds in both aid and investment,
it now appears to have been repulsed by Harare’s wanton disregard for human
rights as evidenced by frequent brutal clampdown on opposition politicians and
the civil society.
“My Lords, what specific steps have the Government taken to
sanction those responsible, including government ministers, for massive human
rights violations in Zimbabwe, such as the abduction and torture of Joana
Mamombe and her colleagues in June? She continues to be viciously harassed
through the criminal justice system, and police brutality is continuing with
impunity: for example, throwing teargas into a crowded bus on 12 October,” Hain
asked.
Sugg responded: “The UK remains aligned to the EU’s
restrictive measures on Zimbabwe. Suspended targeted measures are in place
against three current and former security sector chiefs, and (former first
lady) Grace Mugabe.”
“The sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2018 now
provides the legal basis for the UK to impose autonomous sanctions and we are
in the process of considering our approach to the future sanctions regime in
Zimbabwe.”The House of Lords discussion interestingly comes just after the
country, supported by the Sadc regional bloc, commemorated the first
anniversary of the Anti-Sanctions Day on Sunday.
October 25 was set aside by Sadc countries in Tanzania last
year as the day to lobby for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe. The
sanctions were placed by the United States in 2001 over human rights abuses.
The European Union also placed the country under sanctions but these have been
significantly relaxed.
Sugg said London would continue to work “alongside the
international community to help support good governance, respect for human
rights and genuine political and economic reform in Zimbabwe”.
She said the British government noted the signing of a
recent US$3,5 billion compensation deal between the Zimbabwean government and
farmers for improvements to land but remained concerned that the agreement was
not underpinned by the finance necessary to deliver the agreement.
“Officials at the British embassy in Harare speak regularly
with a full range of stakeholders, who are interested in reaching an agreement
on compensation,” Sugg said.
She said the British government has been clear that a lack
of meaningful economic and political reform, as well as the ongoing human
rights violations, mean that the Government of Zimbabwe is far from achieving
the level of reform the British need to see.
“We will work closely with like-minded partners to continue
to raise concerns, press for respect of the constitution and see the sustained
implementation of the reforms that have been committed to,” Sugg said.
Sugg said Number 10 Downing Street was seriously
considering imposing more sanctions on Zimbabwe. The British government, she
said, would soon impose more punitive sanctions on Zimbabwe should gross human
rights violations and corruption persist.
Despite having promised a clean break from the old regime
of his late predecessor Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa has continued on the same
repressive path which saw London, along with other Western powers, imposing
sanctions on Harare at the turn of the millennium.
Although the British government initially warmed up to
Mnangagwa, promising to pour in millions of pounds in both aid and investment,
it now appears to have been repulsed by Harare’s wanton disregard for human
rights as evidenced by frequent brutal clampdown on opposition politicians and
the civil society.
“My Lords, what specific steps have the Government taken to
sanction those responsible, including government ministers, for massive human
rights violations in Zimbabwe, such as the abduction and torture of Joana
Mamombe and her colleagues in June? She continues to be viciously harassed
through the criminal justice system, and police brutality is continuing with
impunity: for example, throwing teargas into a crowded bus on 12 October,” Hain
asked.
Sugg responded: “The UK remains aligned to the EU’s
restrictive measures on Zimbabwe. Suspended targeted measures are in place
against three current and former security sector chiefs, and (former first
lady) Grace Mugabe.”
“The sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2018 now
provides the legal basis for the UK to impose autonomous sanctions and we are
in the process of considering our approach to the future sanctions regime in
Zimbabwe.”
The House of Lords discussion interestingly comes just
after the country, supported by the Sadc regional bloc, commemorated the first
anniversary of the Anti-Sanctions Day on Sunday.
October 25 was set aside by Sadc countries in Tanzania last
year as the day to lobby for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe. The
sanctions were placed by the United States in 2001 over human rights abuses.
The European Union also placed the country under sanctions but these have been
significantly relaxed.
Sugg said London would continue to work “alongside the
international community to help support good governance, respect for human
rights and genuine political and economic reform in Zimbabwe”.
She said the British government noted the signing of a
recent US$3,5 billion compensation deal between the Zimbabwean government and
farmers for improvements to land but remained concerned that the agreement was
not underpinned by the finance necessary to deliver the agreement.
“Officials at the British embassy in Harare speak regularly
with a full range of stakeholders, who are interested in reaching an agreement
on compensation,” Sugg said.
She said the British government has been clear that a lack
of meaningful economic and political reform, as well as the ongoing human
rights violations, mean that the Government of Zimbabwe is far from achieving
the level of reform the British need to see.
“We will work closely with like-minded partners to continue
to raise concerns, press for respect of the constitution and see the sustained
implementation of the reforms that have been committed to,” Sugg said.
In response, Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo said
the Zimbabwe government was rather surprised at the level of “invasive
interest” in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs by the British. Zimbabwe Independent
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