BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
The United Kingdom has given a damning assessment of Zimbabwe under President Emmerson Mnangagwa saying the country has a poor human rights record and corruption is widespread.
Mnangagwa is set to visit the United Kingdom next month and the trip is being touted by Harare as proof that relations between the two countries are thawing.
Zimbabwe has suffered from international isolation for the past two decades due to alleged human rights violations and electoral fraud by the ruling Zanu PF.
The toppling of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in a military coup in 2017 and Mnangagwa’s rise to power had raised hopes in certain quarters that relations between Harare and London would improve.
However, an overseas business risk guidance on Zimbabwe published on the UK government website on Tuesday showed that Boris Johnson’s government does not agree that the southern African country has turned the corner under the new Zanu PF leader.
“Zimbabwe has a poor record on human rights,” the UK government said.
“Continued abuses have resulted in the placement of targeted sanctions (travel bans and asset freezes) on four security chiefs on 1 February to reflect their role in the most egregious human rights violations (death of six protestors in August 2018 and 17 protestors in January 2019).
Western countries, including the UK, have been piling pressure on Mnangagwa’s government to prosecute members of the security forces behind the 2018 and 2019 killings of protestors.
They have slapped some security chiefs with targeted sanctions.
The UK also believes Mnangagwa’s government has failed to deal with corruption and create an environment that is conducive for investment.
“Corruption in Zimbabwe is widespread,” the guidance says.
“Politically connected individuals are often awarded large state contracts, or allocated state-controlled resources, such as foreign currency.
“For many of the reasons listed above, doing business in Zimbabwe can be challenging, with a number of obstacles and pitfalls.”
It added: “Repatriating profits and paying overseas suppliers is cited as the main challenge, and exporters to Zimbabwe should engage with their customer and/or bank to ensure that this risk is mitigated.
“The high and volatile inflation also makes the business environment more uncertain: many businesses price in United States dollars but as discussed above the supply of foreign currency is erratic.”
Some of Mnangagwa’s 2018 electoral promises were the eradication of corruption and creating an environment that is conducive for business.