Dubious Friends Eye Zimbabwe Gems

Zimbabwe diamond resources are some of the largest in the world. Imperialism has attempted to prevent the Southern African state from trading its most lucrative resource on the world market., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Dubious friends eye Zim gems

Sunday, 07 April 2013 00:00
Kuda Bwititi
Zimbabwe Sunday Mail

The British government invited Zimbabwe for talks aimed at normalising relations between the two countries largely because
the former colonial power wants to benefit from the local economy following the discovery of diamonds in Marange, a Cabinet minister has said.

Speaking on Star FM radio programme The Hub last Thursday, Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa said Britain and a group of Western countries that has christened itself Friends of Zimbabwe (FoZ) do not seem sincere in their re-engagement efforts as their major pre-occupation appears to be the rich resources in the Southern African state.

Cde Chinamasa, who represented Zanu-PF on the re-engagement committee that travelled to London for the talks last week, said British representatives at the meeting acknowledged that the dispute between Harare and London was bilateral and stemmed from differences over the land reform programme.

He added that the two countries pledged to hold another re-engagement interface in future. The dates for the proposed meetings are, however, yet to be set.

Other members of the Zimbabwe re-engagement committee are Mr Elton Mangoma (MDC-T) and Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

“The outcome of the meeting was basically a commitment by the British to agree that the quarrel between Zimbabwe and Britain is a bilateral quarrel and bilateral issue, something that we have been saying all along,” he said.

“They also advised us that they were intent on re-engaging us bilaterally and to put on the agenda all the issues that affect our relationship and these issues include the land question, which is a colonial question and a decolonisation question.

“To that extent, a first step was taken towards a future re-engagement and a future dialogue.”

Minister Chinamasa said Britain and FoZ felt excluded from the country’s economic activities and now hope to benefit from its rich resources following the discovery of diamonds in Marange.

“They also realise that their policy of isolating Zimbabwe and isolating President Mugabe is not sustainable. But also from a very self interest point of view, they want to come into our country because they think that we have excluded them in the economy.

“They want a bite into our industry, primarily into mining and especially diamonds.”
Cde Chinamasa said Western investment should be based on a win-win foundation since the West plundered Zimbabwe’s resources in the past.

“I also indicated that if they want any friendship it should be on the basis of sovereign equality. We do not want a relationship with them, which is exploitative especially as has happened in the past, where a relationship was exploitative in their favour.

“They were basically scooping out our minerals free. That relationship I told them is going to stop. We want to engage each other on the basis of equality; any economic relations should be on the basis of win-win.

“Therefore, there must be mutual advantage and mutual benefit to the investor who makes money and to ourselves. There must be benefits, clear benefits that accrue to the country in which they are investing.”

He said the ball was in the British government’s court to continue engagement.
“It was them who disengaged from our relations. If they decide to re-engage us, they know where to find us. We are ready because in the first place, we never disengaged; it was them who decided that they would sever relations with Zimbabwe.”

Cde Chinamasa revealed that there was, however, discord among the re-engagement team members who only agreed that sanctions against the country should be scrapped unconditionally.

“Unfortunately, Minister Mangoma who started the discussion and made the first presentation started washing the dirty linen in public.

“Clearly he was making an attack on Zanu-PF on all issues almost as if he was talking to a Zimbabwean audience. I was forced basically to put the Zanu PF position.”

Last month, Britain’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Mark Simmonds, invited the Zimbabwe Government for the talks, marking the first time the British have formally sought to resolve the impasse between the two countries spanning over a decade.

Harare and London fell out after the latter reneged on an obligation to finance the land reform programme. The British internationalised the dispute and eventually convinced its Western allies to impose sanctions.


Britain lets sanctions cat out of the bag

Sunday, 07 April 2013 00:00
Sunday Mail Reporter

The British government has exposed that it imposed economic sanctions and not just travel bans on Zimbabwe

after the administration was forced to issue a licence to enable the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa to conduct any financial transaction during the recently held re-engagment talks in London.

It has since emerged that the British government has a Statutory Instrument entitled The Zimbabwe (Financial Sanctions) Regulations, which prohibits Zanu-PF officials under the EU travel ban from conducting any financial transaction in that country.

Surprisingly, Britain had to issue the licence to Minister Chinamasa despite the fact that he is among the 81 Zanu-PF officials that were ostensibly removed from the EU sanctions list recently.

Minister Chinamasa recently travelled to London for the re-engagment talks together with the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Mr Elton Mangoma and the Minister of Regional Intergration and International Cooperation Ms Pricilla Misihairabwi.

While the two ministers from the two MDC formations had no hussles conducting any transaction in London, the Justice Minister had to be issued with the licence just before he left Harare.

The licence that was issued just before Cde Chinamasa left Harare for the talks expired on March 27 and when the British authorities realised that the minister was extending his stay they were forced to issue another licence that was expiring on March 31 2013.

Part of the HM Treasury note reads: “This licence concerns Mr Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (sic) and covers the period of his visit to the United Kingdom for the Friends of Zimbabwe meeting on 26th March 2013.

“Any person, entity or body may undertake and transact with Chinamasa which: a) makes funds available to him b) makes an economic resource available to him; or c) makes an economic resource indirectly available to another person designated under the EC regulation.

“This licence expires at 23:59 on 27th March 2013.This licence may be varied or revoked by the Treasury at any time.”

In an interview, Cde Chinamasa said he was shocked since he believed he had been struck off the sanctions list on the strength of Zimbabwe’s successful constitutional referendum.

“All along I thought I was no longer on the sanctions list, but, I realised during the experience that this is the hypocrisy of the British,” he said.

“They have been telling the whole world that they have removed the sanctions against me yet the truth of the matter is that I am still under sanctions. It’s the zenith of hypocrisy.

“The second lie that has been exposed is that these licences that I was given show that these are economic sanctions and not just the travel bans which they talk about.”
Cde Chinamasa said he regarded the licences as humiliating and did not bother to use them. He revealed that he had to send other members of the re-engagement team, Mr Mangoma and Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga to purchase stuff for him.

“Because I did not want to face the humiliation of producing a licence every time I wanted to purchase anything, I had to rely on my colleagues to buy anything on my behalf.

“I think it is a disgrace that in this day and age, you can be asked to produce a licence to buy even a cup of tea.”

Political analyst and Midlands State University lecturer Mr Nhamo Mhiripiri said sanctions tend to have an impact long after their removal.

“It has become a trend that the impact of sanctions will stand for even decades after they have been removed.

“You only need to look at the case of former South President Nelson Mandela. After the United States government discovered that he was still on their list of terrorists and dangerous persons they invited him to their country long after he had been struck off the sanctions roll.”

Last month, the EU announced that it had removed 81 Zanu-PF officials and selected Zimbabwean companies from its sanctions list. The bloc, however, left 10 top influential individuals, including President Mugabe and First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, as well as service chiefs.

The financial sanctions that Britain still has in force, however, indicate insincerity on the part of the British and their European counterparts.

An explanatory note attached to The Zimbabwe (Financial Solutions) Regulations states that the sanctions intend to “freeze funds and economic resources of Zimbabwe” and “prohibit economic activity” in the country.

“The measures include the freezing of funds and economic resources belonging to individual members of the Government of Zimbabwe and to persons associated with them and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available…”