Browsing: President Emmerson Mnangagwa

US Sanctions on Zimbabwe
  • The Biden administration has refined US sanctions on Zimbabwe targeting specific leaders linked to human rights abuses and corruption.
  • New sanctions leverage the Global Magnitsky Act, and they focus on individuals and entities undermining democracy and involved in graft.
  • The strategy supports the objectives of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, emphasizing the need for political and economic reforms in Zimbabwe.

In a policy shift, President Joe Biden has overhauled the United States’ sanctions strategy towards Zimbabwe, introducing a set of measures aimed directly at key figures within President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.

This move marks a departure from a broader sanctions regime that has been in place for over two decades, focusing instead on those at the heart of human rights abuses and corruption within the Zimbabwean government.

This restructuring of sanctions is part of the US’s ongoing commitment to fostering accountability for human rights abuses and corruption in …

Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa's freeze on bank lending to save currency value. www.theexchange.africa
  • Before Mnangagwa’s statement, the Zimbabwean currency was officially valued at 165.94 to the US dollar, but it was trading on the black market at a rate ranging from 330 to 400 to the dollar
  • Investigations found that many enterprises are simply borrowing significant sums of Zimbabwe dollars, which they then channel into the parallel market to acquire US dollars
  • The president proposed issuing an order to compensate account holders who lost the value of their assets when the country de-dollarized in 2019

Zimbabwe ditched its depreciated currency in 2009, preferring to utilize foreign currencies, notably the US dollar. Mnangagwa’s administration revived the native currency in 2019 to float alongside international currencies in the economy, but the local currency continued to lose value.

As a result, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has instructed banks to cease extending loans to the government and private sector departments, claiming that the unprecedented action was intended to