Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema Tuesday lauded the latest move by the United States government to remove 17 individuals from the sanctions list saying it shows Washington is listening to the needs of the SADC bloc.
The US treasury department announced the removal of 17 individuals including Ignatius Chombo, Rugare Gumbo, Flora Buka, Jaison Machaya, and Nicholas Goche from the sanctions before adding four more including President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s son, Emmerson Jr, business mogul, Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s wife and two other. It also sanctioned companies linked to Tagwirei.
Hichilema was full of praise for the President Joe Biden administration after the move.
“We appreciate the United States continued reevaluation of sanctions against individuals in Zimbabwe. Thank you [President of the United States] for your attention to this and for making listening to SADC nations a priority,” he said.
Meanwhile, analysts say the adding of more individuals to the sanctions list makes life more difficult for ordinary Zimbabweans.
Professor Gift Mugano, an economics professor at the Durban University of Technology, said the sanctions are making it difficult for Zimbabwe to attract investors and get capital for essential projects such as power plants.
“When you are under sanctions, you must be more careful and prudent when using your resources. The case in point is the 35 million US dollars which is being given to members of parliament and ministers, the package which they have been given,” he said.
