GOOD day, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Your Excellency, my deduction is that targeted sanctions were inevitable. It does not augur well for Zimbabwe that you are the first sitting President to be designated by the United States (US) under the Global Magnitsky Programme.
Granted, the imposition of sanctions was the requisite collateral damage for compelling accountability. Yet, it inevitably deprived you of the stature that statesmen dutifully safeguard, even against dust and rust.
There must be accountability, equitability, transparency and tolerance in all matters of governance. As critical thinker Daniel Webster noted, justice for all is the ligament which holds civilised citizenry together. Yet, for Zimbabwe, there is anything else, except integrity.
There is lack of desire and effort by government to render every citizenry their due, including respect for their votes. There is a transgression of the norms of equitability and diversity. There has long been a pressing moral obligation to compel government to be accountable.
Therefore, the imposition of targeted sanctions was inevitable. Your Excellency, the frank talk by James Manyika, a Google senior vice president in charge of Artificial Intelligence, must have roused the conscience of a listening president.
His statement, "I will not go around the world saying, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe only for Zimbabwe to embarrass me," is the innermost churning of a tormented soul by the depravity of governance of his native country.
I reckon Manyika spoke for multitudes of progressive Zimbabweans who are roundly embarrassed by the government. As if the sham elections were not enough, corruption is rife in government.
There was deafening silence in corridors of power when the Prosecutor-General Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo advocated the creation of a strong anti-corruption ecosystem in Zimbabwe. As I see it, targeted sanctions were inevitable.
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Her affirmation to the eradication of corruption within the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe and the justice system was an invitation to the progressive communities to practical endeavours on curbing graft.
Addressing the media in Harare, Waĺey Adeyemo, the US deputy Treasury secretary, said the “new sanctions regime was a demonstration that the restrictive measures were not on the people of Zimbabwe, but on criminal networks around Mnangagwa. The US was sanctioning Mnangagwa for shielding gold and diamond smugglers as well as for leading security forces involved in human rights violations."
Considering the prevalence of corruption within government whereby the Executive, in a devil-may-care attitude, dished out large sums of hard currency to High Court judges, ministers and lawmakers, I pledge my troth that sanctions were inevitable.
Apparently, the obligation to compel government to control itself justly was foreseen back then by the American Federalists. They were wary as they crafted a Constitution with adequate checks and balances capable of regulating mutually beneficial existence in their settled land.
They declared, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must enable government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige the government to control itself."
Your Excellency, targeted sanctions were inevitable. They are a just means of compelling the government to control itself well. Their concerns dovetail with what ancient lawgiver Justinian advocated. He demanded for constant desire and effort by government to render everyone their due.
As I see it, it was disingenuous for Zanu PF to claim victory for your said open-door policy following the removal of the sanctions programme on Zimbabwe that had been in force since 2003.
Although the former one was replaced by a new one, which the binding effects were narrowed to 11 individuals, including yourself and First Lady Auxilia, Zanu PF nonetheless claimed that your policy forced the revisit of the sanctions and the attempt to sanitise them.
Responding to the termination of the former sanctions’ regime, the Zanu PF director of information, Farai Marapira, described the sanctions as aggressive and punitive, claiming that US was sanitising the sanctions agenda.
"The open door policy of President Mnangagwa forced the Americans to revisit their sanctions and try to sanitise their sanctions, but sanctions are vindictive and aggressive so long as we remain with sanctions against anyone in Zimbabwe, especially our leader and senior members of government, then we still have not made much progress.
“This attempt by the Americans to sanitise their sanctions regime is a sign of success in our foreign policy," declared Marapira. Yet, with all due respect, the magnitude of the figment of his lost and forlorn imagination is beneath the expectations of the ruling party.
Essentially, Zanu PF and government must wean themselves off from claiming victimisation. It has been explained with clarity that the sanctions were targeted on individuals, not on Zimbabwe as oftentimes claimed.
Your Excellency, with your application for re-entry into the Commonwealth still pending, the imposed sanctions on you for corruption and human rights violations are a damning indictment, signalling the dawn of dire straits for your Presidency and for the country.
I reckon the statement, "These illicit activities support and contribute to global criminal network of bribery, smuggling and money laundering that impoverished communities in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa, and other parts of the world," mishappens your Presidency.
Methinks the commentator who said if the President is under sanctions, so is the country was forthright. Given the essence of your being sanctioned, as I see it, you were stripped of the dignity to deliberate on the Zimbabwe debt recovery proceedings.
Your Excellency, it debilitates the propriety inherent in the Presidency that US stated that it designated you for providing protective shield to smugglers and for facilitating the sale of gold and diamond in illicit markets. As I see it, targeted sanctions were inevitable.
