WATCH: 'Sanctions Benefit Zanu PF Politicians' - Trevor Ncube

Alpha Media Holdings businessman and Presidential Advisory Committee member, Trevor Ncube, said that sanctions are benefiting Zanu PF and helping it solidifying. Ncube was interviewing the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols.

Said Ncube:

Let me go back to the Sanctions Issue and focus you on the fact that, the people that are supposed to be targeted by the sanctions don’t usually get hurt by sanctions. The people that get hurt by sanctions is the common man on the street. And right now that common man is suffering. The people that supposed to be suffering from sanctions are not suffering.

The other point is that the sanctions are actually good for a lot of people in Zanu PF hierarchy, that benefit from that. So what I’m putting across to you is that the sanctions are actually helping Zanu PF solidify and hurting the common people. And if the Americans were interested in human rights and the wellbeing of Zimbabweans, the sanctions ought to be removed to help the common people and disadvantage those that are in power.

To this, Brian Nichols responded:

If the government of Zimbabwe were truly interested in the issue of sanctions and considered this a major problem, rather than having a rally, what GoZ would do is make a chart of the things that the international community is asking it to do and then, come with an argument saying we have addressed the concerns that you have.

In multiple meetings, my boss Ambassador Tibor Nagy the Secretary of State for African Affairs he asked President Mnangagwa for repeal of POSA and AIPPA. Neither of those things have happened. MOPA has been passed but as far as I know, it hasn’t been signed. There has not been action taken to repeal AIPPA yet. I know that there are some analysts out there looking at it.

But those are concrete things that over a year ago in September of 2018, my government asked the Government of Zimbabwe to do and these are things that are totally in line with the campaign promises that the President of Zimbabwe ran on. These are changes that are totally in line with the Constitution of 2013, which is a beautiful document that enshrines universal values.

The issue again of what the effect of international restrictive measures including sanctions on the average person in Zimbabwe, I do not accept the argument that those are having an effect on the average people. The 141 persons and entities who are covered do face real restrictions and challenges. If it didn’t bother them at all and made them happier and richer, they would not be having an antis-sanctions day on October the 25th. They’d be having a “thank you for sanctions” day on October the 25th.