An antidote for sanctions is in the making

OUR own Generation Z, which includes the popular demographic cohort of the free-spirited and carefree Ama2K (those born after the year 2000), have lived most of their lives under sanctions.

In fact, those who were born after the US took the mischievous and malign decision to enact an extraterritorial law — the cynically named Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) — on December 21, 2001, designed to asphyxiate the economy of our teapot-shaped Republic, have turned or will be turning 23 years old this year.

So, essentially, they are blissfully oblivious of how normal life used to be.

The BRICS+ bloc is working on an alternative global financial system that is insulated against the increased weaponisation of the US dollar

Those who live in the ghetto have never known the thrill of bathing in a shower.

All their life, they have had to contend with the now-all-too-familiar bucket system, as running tap water has become a rarity.

They also have never known the thrill of watering the vegetable garden or lawn with a hose pipe. Similarly, they have never known the joyful sensation of a train ride.

You see, in the old days, trains and buses used to run on time.

Well, everything worked like clockwork.

Our Zimbabwe dollar — especially those $5, $10 and $20 notes after independence, buoyed by a bustling economy — was our pride and joy. It was a land of milk and honey, where it was normal for the milkman to literally leave your order — usually bottled milk — at your doorstep.

But something changed in 1998 when Chief Svosve (Enock Gahadza Zenda) led an impatient army of villagers from Magorimbo, Mupazviriho, Chematanda, Kanjiva, Nyabonde, Choto, Mumvuma and Mareverwa, among others, to occupy nearby farms in Marondera, such as Daskop, Igava and Bruce Farm. It was an act that the West, particularly the UK, which was determined to kick the can down the run insofar as resolution of the land question was concerned, frowned at.

Efforts to browbeat authorities in Harare to order the peasants off their stolen ancestral and back to the barren communal lands they had been condemned to came to naught.

The bold move by villagers from Svosve was to, however, set off a sequence of consequential events that culminated in the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme.

And for daring to wrest back its land from white settlers who had violently dispossessed natives, Zimbabwe had to be punished in the most brutal and severest manner to discourage fellow African countries that would have dared to do the same. What was a bilateral issue between Zimbabwe and the UK somehow escalated into a multilateral brawl led by the US, which took the initiative to legislate ZDERA in 2001.

After having been introduced by US Senators Russ Feingold and Bill Frist on March 8 the same year, the Bill was later sponsored by, among notable politicians, Hillary Clinton and current President Joe Biden.

The US Senate and House of Representatives subsequently passed it on August 1 and December 4, respectively, paving the way for its eventual signing into law by then-President George Bush on December 21.

And this, folks, heralded the beginning of our political, social and economic tumult.

Calculated economic assault

Forget the mumbo jumbo and oft-repeated rhetoric and propaganda that claims ZDERA is designed to restore democracy and grow Zimbabwe’s economy, as its text clearly shows a systematic and calculated assault on the foundations that undergird our economy.

What the law essentially did was to turn off the financial spigots, particularly through the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund, and allied institutions), that used to provide both balance of payment support and development finance to Zimbabwe. For instance, in September 1999, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended its support under a ‘‘stand by arrangement’’, approved the previous month, for economic adjustment and reform in Zimbabwe.

In the following month, the International Development Association (IDA), which falls under the World Bank Group, suspended all structural adjustment loans, credits and guarantees to the Government.

In May the following year, the IDA suspended all other new lending to the Government and later suspended disbursement of funds for ongoing projects under previously approved loans. From there on, the financial traps ran dry.

It should be remembered that, in addition to the IMF and World Bank Group, under which also falls the International Finance Corporation, an arm that used to finance the private sector, the US also holds sway in various key multilateral financial institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Investment Corporation, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency.

Under a regime and global financial architecture overseen by Washington, the cost of complying with the US onerous sanctions programme made Zimbabwe a risky destination for investments and transactions.

It is, therefore, unsurprisingly that in the years after the coercive measures by Washington and her allies, Zimbabwe lost more than 100 correspondent banking relationship, which upped the cost of doing business.

Over the years, the deleterious impact of these toxic measures has manifested is foreign currency shortages, low investment, deinstrialisation, a weakening local currency and a systematic decline in living standards.

All this was meant to make the population restive enough to turn on the ruling ZANU PF and dislodge it from power.

And the US does not even make this a secret, as it is encapsulated in Section 2 of ZDERA (statement of policy), which unequivocally states: “It is the policy of the United States to support the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle to effect peaceful, democratic change, achieve broad-based and equitable economic growth and restore the rule of law.”

So, the endgame is to “effect peaceful, democratic change”.

Yeah, right!

We have seen how all that has worked out in Afghanistan and Libya.

Sowing discord, hatred, confusion

Perhaps the most critical is that for the first time, we saw through ZDERA the most brazen efforts to finance divisions and destabilisation activities under the guise of supporting “democracy and governance programmes”.

A cash outlay of US$6 million — a princely sum then — was made available for this subversive programme.

It resultantly birthed a militant “opposition press”, which rabidly attacked the Government and ruling party to whip up anti-establishment sentiment. In addition to sowing division and hate, it ultimately resulted in the polarisation of media, as well as the toxicity that we see today in local political discourse.

Romans 16:17-18 teaches us: “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”

Proverbs 22 verse 8: “Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.”

Resilience and triumph

For a tiny country that has been buffeted by a sledgehammer by the mightiest power on earth, Zimbabwe has proved to be incredibly resilient. Under the First Republic, it held its ground and went pound for pound in an epic diplomatic row against powers that worked tirelessly to collapse the political establishment in Harare. It successfully navigated a treacherous and rigged global political terrain, strategically pivoting to the Eastern bloc.

Under the Second Republic, led by President ED, Zimbabwe has proved to be politically dexterous by circumspectly reconfiguring its foreign policy, heralding an era of reproachment under which the country is a “friend to all and enemy to none”.

The bold decision to leverage on local resources, which we have in abundance, and translating existing strong political ties into trade ties has proved to be highly rewarding.

Despite the odds stacked heavily against us, we are now on an irreversible path of economic growth, underpinned by record growth in agricultural production, exponential output in mining and heavy investments in infrastructure development, among others.

And this has not escaped the attention of those who were betting and rooting for our failure. Recognising the implications of Zimbabwe’s perceived success under sanctions, Washington has been trying several face-saving political gymnastics.

For instance, on March 4 this year, Biden was forced to terminate the US Zimbabwe sanctions programme, unblocking all individuals, entities and property that had been blocked under that authority.

However, he imposed Global Magnitsky sanctions on 11 individuals and three entities that had been blocked under the now-repealed Zimbabwe programme.

In essence, Biden terminated the national emergency regarding Zimbabwe that was first declared by George Bush in Executive Order 13228 from 2003, as well as two other executive orders that built upon it — Executive Order 13391 of 2005 and Executive Order 13469 of 2008. Although largely ceremonial, this act was important insofar as it shows that those of ill-will are financially acknowledging our progress, albeit grudgingly.

We are on the right path.

Most encouragingly, the global political dynamics are changing and becoming auspicious for our endeavours.

The emerging global architecture led by BRICS+ bloc, whose leaders will gather in Russia this week, promises an alternative payment system and source of funds for aspiring members such as Zimbabwe.

This would be a convenient antidote that would substantially blunt the impact on sanctioned countries, which, in essence, is the motivation behind the architects of this alternative global financial system.

The stars are lining up.

We will ultimately overcome.

Bishop out!