The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said there are no sanctions on Zimbabwean exports and imports.
The apex bank’s governor, Dr John Panonetsa Mangudya, made the remarks in response to reports by Al Jazeera that the government was using RBZ to outsmart sanctions imposed on the southern African nation.
In a statement seen by Pindula News, Mangudya said Al Jazeera’s reports, in an unscreened documentary of corruption and plunder of natural resources in Zimbabwe, are meant to tarnish the bank’s image. Said Mangudya:
It is particularly strange that the reports claim that “through the Bank, Government is using illicit ways as a scheme to bust international sanctions placed on political leaders and government entities”. The Bank is not a sanctioned entity, and the cited individuals are not sanctioned persons either. There are no sanctions on Zimbabwean exports and imports, including trade in gold, to warrant Zimbabwe to “circumvent international sanctions” through illicit trade in gold. As such, the claim that there is “a scheme to bust international sanctions using illicit ways” shows beyond doubt that the peddlers of this narrative have a sinister agenda with nefarious objectives of tarnishing both the Bank and the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Since the turn of the millennium, Zimbabwe has faced sanctions from various countries due to concerns about its human rights record, electoral processes, and economic policies.
The government says these sanctions have had a negative impact on the country’s economy, but some argue they are necessary to hold the government accountable and push for reforms.
Some sanctions have been lifted in response to positive developments, but others remain in place, and the situation in Zimbabwe is still being monitored by the international community.