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EU is naive over Zim sanctions, says Matonga

EU is naive over Zim sanctions, says Matonga
By George Chellah in Mutare, Zimbabwe
Wednesday September 26, 2007 [04:00]

ZIMBABWEAN Deputy Minister of Information Bright Matonga yesterday said it was naïve for the European Union (EU) to insist that there are no economic sanctions in Zimbabwe. And Matonga said the ‘targeted’ sanctions have affected vulnerable Zimbabweans and not the specific individuals they have been imposed on.

In an interview, Matonga, who was responding to the insistence by the EU head of delegation in Zambia that there were no sanctions on Zimbabwe except for its leaders, said the issue of sanctions was an economic warfare, which has effects.

"There is a study that was carried out on sanctions. They wreck havoc, targeting vulnerable groupsin any society. Whether declared or undeclared, sanctions have a ripple effect,” Matonga said.

“For example, hospitals can’t get medicines, unemployment levels will be high and almost all food stuffs will become very expensive and if they are available they disappear from shelves. Therefore, it will be naïve for anyone to say that there are no economic sanctions in Zimbabwe.”

He said due to bad publicity, Zimbabwe has been unable to get any credit line facilities.

“You can’t do trade with anybody. So that’s what’s happening. Already, the World Bank has imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe. They have suspended grants and infrastructural development projects to both the government and the private sector. They have stopped all lending facilities to Zimbabwe,” Matonga said.

Matonga said ordinary Zimbabweans have been affected more by ‘targeted’ sanctions. “They are saying that those are targeted sanctions but the people who are suffering are not the targeted people in the government but the masses,” he said.

He said donors who are aligned to Britain have suspended the financing of several sectors in Zimbabwe due to sanctions. “In education, we used to get US$15 million from the Swedish government. That has been suspended. Our universities can’t access computers from American IT companies. They are hitting the education, agriculture and transport sectors, everywhere where it matters,” Matonga said.

“DANIDA established a US$50 million facility for the transport sector but that was also suspended. Even the Swedish government had a US$15.5 million facility for supporting rehabilitation of roads, which was also suspended.”

He said even the health sector has had some of its funding suspended by donors. “The Danish government had a US$30 million facility for drug procurement. For HIV and a number things. That was also suspended. And the Swedish had a similar facility of US$7 million that was suspended as well,” Matonga said.

Matonga said the imperialists do not want to be seen as if they made a wrong move on Zimbabwe hence they would try by all means possible to cover up. “Interestingly, not all EU countries agree with Britain, for instance, Portugal. In fact, most European countries are now quietly investing in Zimbabwe,” he said.

He said nothing had yielded from the targeted sanctions on specific government leaders. “They have been saying that they have frozen bank accounts but they haven’t come up with anything up to date to show. So where is the corruption they are talking about?” Matonga asked.

“Meaning President Mugabe and any other government leaders have not taken any money out of the country.”

European Commission head of delegation in Zambia Dr Derek Fee on Monday dispelled assertions that Zimbabwe was under sanctions but explained that what was in force was a travel ban against President Robert Mugabe, his wife, friends and ministers.

Dr Fee said the EU was open to dialogue with Zimbabwe and it would this year spend 197 million Euros on Zimbabwean programmes. He further said the sanctions against Zimbabwe were not economic and that the country had a net balance of payment with the EU as it exported more than it imported to the union.

Dr Fee said this after making an announcement that President Robert Mugabe would not be invited to a key Africa-Europe summit set for Portugal on December 8, 2007 because he faces travel restrictions to Europe.

Labels: EU, SADC, SANCTIONS, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 3:54 AM