Mnangagwa government's sanctions lies EXPOSED

US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols speaks out.UNITED States (US) ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols, has dismissed government claims that Western sanctions were behind the country’s economic meltdown,.

saying the haemorrhage was being fuelled by high-profile corruption, economic mismanagement, policy inconsistency and failure to respect human rights, among other vices. In an opinion piece exclusively written for NewsDay,

Nichols said those vices were holding the country back.His statement comes as government has declared (Friday) a public holiday to campaign for the unconditional lifting of the sanctions. Government claims sanctions were blocking lines of credit and trade..Sadc countries have also pledged to observe the day in solidarity with Harare to pressure the European Union and US to lift the sanctions which were imposed following gross human rights abuses and electoral fraud during the late former President Robert Mugabe’s rule.

The US government in March this year extended the sanctions by a year, saying they would only be lifted after President Emmerson Mnangagwa has honoured his reform pledge.“Blaming sanctions is a convenient scapegoat to distract the public from the real reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic challenges — corruption, economic mismanagement, and failure to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law,” Nichols said.“What then is holding Zimbabwe back?

 It’s not sanctions. There are only 141 Zimbabwean people and companies on the US sanctions list.That’s right, just 141, in a country of 16 million. They are on the list for good reason.”.He added: “There is no US trade embargo on Zimbabwe.American companies are interested in investing in Zimbabwe, but are deterred by the massive levels of corruption, economic uncertainty, and weak rule of law.

So, investors turn to other promising opportunities in the region and wait for the country to embrace the political and economic reforms that would make it a more attractive destination.”Nichols said the greatest sanctions on Zimbabwe were the limitations the country was imposing on itself.  Nichols said Zimbabwe is ranked 160 out of 175 nations on Transparency International’s corruption list.The US envoy chronicled a lot of corrupt activities by government fatcats, including the missing US$2,8 million earmarked for the Command Agriculture programme,

and how American companies were unceremoniously elbowed out of the Dema Power project after winning the tender in 2016, and replaced by Sakunda Holdings.He also cited scandals at the Zimbabwe National Road Authority and Zesa Holdings, where millions of dollars could not be accounted for.“Corruption is at the heart of why Zimbabweans are suffering through prolonged power outages. It’s not sanctions.It’s a betrayal of the public trust,” Nichols charged.He declared that Zimbabwe loses more than US$1 billion per year to corruption, which is a huge figure considering