Harare – President Emmerson Mnangagwa spokesperson George Charamba said in a statement Western hostility towards Zimbabwe is deterring investment.
These utterances by Charamba are in sharp contrast with what President Mnangagwa was preaching to woo Western governments to re-engage with Zimbabwe for the betterment of the country.
This comes at a time when the world and Zimbabwe in particular awaits the Concourt ruling tomorrow where MDC Alliance presidential hopeful Nelson Chamisa is seeking to overturn President-elect Mnangagwa and possibly force a re-run.
Yesterday the stock market struggled for direction into the midweek session as the uncertainty on possible outcomes has led investors to take wide bets which in turn has created sharp fluctuations in trading by the seesawing action. In the session three of the four Zimbabwe Stock Exchanges indices closed in gains.
President Mnangagwa has been at pains to try and mend the sow relationship between Zimbabwe and the West before and after the slender victory on the July 30 plebiscite.
However, the violent crackdown on opposition protesters by the military which left at least seven people dead just after the election coupled with the remarks by Charamba signalled that his charm offensive towards the West may already be unravelling.
Charamba said Western States are preventing Zimbabwe from revitalising its ailing economy especially America.
“Of concern to investors is the continued hostility of the West, principally America which has been influencing IFIs (International Financial Institutions) negatively against Zimbabwe.
“This has delayed a resolution to the debt question, itself the elephant in the room.”
Charamba also said delays caused by Chamisa’s court challenge to Mnangagwa’s election victory were also putting off investors.
“External partners - governmental and entrepreneurial - are irritated by the delay in closure to what in all estimate was a free, fair, democratic and credible electoral process.
“Many investment projects have been waiting in the wings and the frustration of many investors who cannot wait much longer is palpable,” he said.
Charamba added that despite attempts by some “intrusive foreigners” to derail the country’s progress, Zimbabwe had good relations with southern African governments and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) states.
Zimbabweans were hopeful that a free, fair non-violent and credible elections will end their decades of wallowing in abject poverty with most of them living on a hand to mouth basis.
Ever since the military intervention in November last year which saw the resignation of the nonagenarian Robert Mugabe as the country’s president, Mnangagwa had repeatedly expressed a desire to make amends with Western governments and has been conducting meetings with Western ambassadors in Harare in which he was pictured smiling with the diplomats an indication that Zimbabwe was now open for business with the West.
During the time leading to the elections he announced mega deals worth billions of dollars including from Western firms.
Economists agree that in order for Zimbabwe to revive its economy which is currently is shambles there is need for the nation to clear its arrears with Western donors and agree a financing programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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