The United States government said Zimbabwe’s economic growth is being hindered by failed economic policies and corruption, and not sanctions, reported VOA News.
Tibo Nagy, Assistant Secretary for the U.S Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, Monday said Zimbabwe is losing a lot of money solely due to widespread corruption and poor economic policies.
Responding to question on targeted sanctions after the anti-sanctions protests by Zanu PF and the Southern African nation in Zimbabwe and other nations, Nagy said billions of dollars of the Zimbabwean people have been lost due to decades of corruption and harmful economic policies which have culminated in the current economic crisis.
He said the Zimbabwean government is responsible for the country’s current economic woes that resulted due to continued systematic and massive corrupt activities by Zimbabwean government officials and others.
The statement comes after Washington imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe’s state security minister amid human rights concerns. The State Department said on Friday Owen Ncube won’t be allowed entry into the US as it had credible information of his involvement in gross violations of human rights.
“We are deeply troubled by the Zimbabwean government’s use of state-sanctioned violence against peaceful protestors, and civil society, as well as against labor leaders and members of the opposition leaders in Zimbabwe,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. “We urge the government to stop the violence, investigate and hold accountable officials responsible for human rights violations and abuses in Zimbabwe.”
Last week, thousands of Zimbabweans took to the streets in Harare to protest sanctions imposed on the country’s leadership for most of the past two decades. The United States and European Union first imposed sanctions on former President Robert Mugabe and dozens of his allies in 2002.
The Zimbabwe government also commemorated Anti-Sanctions Day, a new public holiday, on October 25, to protest US sanctions as it said the sanctions are hurting its economy.
