Government has welcomed European Union’s (EU) slight ease of the economic sanctions which involves scrapping of the measures on four individuals.
This was revealed in the EU’s communique of the organisation’s meeting in Brussels today.
Government, speaking through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs And International Trade, appreciated the move stating that it is a result of the country’s progress on broad reform agenda.
“We have taken note of European Union’s position with regard to its long-standing sanctions regime against Zimbabwe, and welcome its decision to further ease, albeit only slightly, those measures.
“We view this development as an acknowledgement of progress made in terms of the broad reform agenda we have set ourselves, and to which are fully committed. That reform agenda was a process rather than an event and it will take time to complete,” reads the statement.
EU has however renewed the rest of the sanctions placing Zimbabwe Defence Industries under the measures until 2021.
“Taking into account the situation in Zimbabwe, including the yet to be investigated alleged role of the armed and security forces in human rights abuses, the Council today agreed to renew its arms embargo and targeted assets freeze against one company, Zimbabwe Defence Industries, for one year until 20 February 2021,” said the Council in a statement.
To this effect, government has called for the total uplift of the embargo.
“We maintain that these and other sanction measures imposed against Zimbabwe are unjustified and outdated; that they actually hinder our reform and that all such measures should be removed.”
