HARARE - Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown was caused by economic mismanagement under President Robert Mugabe’s leadership and not sanctions as propagated by Zanu PF, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said.

Tsvangirai also dismissed as false assertions that Zimbabwe is under economic sanctions arguing that the West only imposed restrictive measures on Mugabe and his cronies for orchestrating a breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe.

Speaking at a public accountability seminar organised by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) in Harare Monday, Tsvangirai said the Zanu PF government ruined the economy through bad decisions.

“Our problems emanated from mis-governance, the violent land reform and RBZ’s printing of worthless currency that is the bearer cheques. All these compounded  to what was already a political problem to an economic one. There is no economic sanctions regime in this country, there are restrictive measures.

“We have agreed as principals to tackle the issue of restrictive measures as this isolation has affected the lines of credit.

“Through a deliberate campaign of intimidation, abusing the rule of law and substituting national policies for political party programmes our economy was decimated, our institutions undermined and our peoples impoverished and persecuted,” said Tsvangirai who added such acts scares away investors.

The United States, Britain and the European Union (EU) have imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his colleagues for gross human rights violations, disrespect of the rule of law and failure to respect property rights among others.

While the unity government is making moves to persuade the West to remove sanctions, they seem to be hitting brick walls.

Last week, a Zimbabwean delegation compromising of the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations and Zanu PF, met US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson and special assistant to the US President who is also a senior director for African affairs, Michelle Gavin in a bid to unlock the issue of sanctions but they failed.

Part of the statement from the US embassy in Harare after the meeting read: “The United States recognised and applauded the economic advances that have occurred in Zimbabwe but remains concerned that political progress has not been as successful. The discussions were cordial and both sides agreed on the need to seek opportunities to continue an open dialogue.

“The United States pointed out that the current political and human rights environment in Zimbabwe remained troublesome, pointing to the recent harassment of WOZA and the disruption of constitutional reform meetings in Harare.”

Zimbabwe was represented at the meeting by the Minister of Energy and Power Elton Mangoma, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs Patrick Chinamasa and Minister of Regional and International Cooperation, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

The US urged Zimbabwe to make further progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) if the targeted sanctions are to be removed.

“Political progress comes with strong institutions, not strong individuals, and developing strong and transparent institutions will sustain economic growth.

“The United States remains a major contributor and continues to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Zimbabwe. Our sanctions are under regular review, but as long as human rights violations, land seizures, and intimidation of those participating in the political process continue, the sanctioned individuals and entities on the list who continue to perpetrate and benefit from these acts are unlikely to be removed.

“Significant improvements in the political environment, greater respect for human rights and political freedoms will result in change in U.S. posture,” reads the statement from the US embassy.

By Daily News