State Media
ZANU-PF says controversial and obviously corrupt businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei a respected player and stakeholder in the local economy and sanctions slapped on him are just “the continuation of an assault against the country and its leaders.”
Earlier this month, The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) finally saw it fit to place Tagwirei and his Sakunda Holdings on its sanctions list, accusing him of corruption.
“Tagwirei and other Zimbabwean elites have derailed economic development and harmed the Zimbabwean people through corruption,” US Deputy Secretary of Treasury Justin G Muzinich said while announcing the latest round of sanctions.
In a statement, acting Zanu-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Patrick Chinamasa, said the party had taken note of the sanctions against Tagwirei and Sakunda and acknowledged them as the latest act of aggression by a country determined to cripple the Government of Zimbabwe for the land reform programme it initiated at the turn of the millennium.
“Zanu-PF has noted and acknowledged the Ofac sanctions imposed on Mr Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Sakunda Holdings. This comes as no surprise as these sanctions follow relentless orchestrated attacks over the past 12 months targeting the President Cde ED Mnangagwa, members of the First Family, Government of Zimbabwe and its institutions, Zanu-PF and its leadership since the Zanu-PF Government embarked on the Land Reform and Redistribution Programme in 2000, Zimbabwe has been wilting under the yoke of USA sanctions whose main objective has been, to quote former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Mr Chester Crocker, ‘to make the economy of Zimbabwe scream and to separate Zanu-PF from the people to achieve an illegal regime change’,” Chinamasa said.
He said the US was acting on false information peddled by enemies of the country, mainly the leadership of the MDC-Alliance, who were only happy to see more economically damaging action taken against Zimbabwe. He said allegations of Sakunda’s corruption through the Command Agriculture Programme were also made without a shred of evidence proffered by his accusers.
“On the issue of Command Agriculture again, the USA has conveniently chosen to act on the basis of falsehoods such as the allegations that Mr Tagwirei and Sakunda Holdings defrauded Government under the very successful Command Agriculture Scheme initiated and then funded by Government to ensure the success of the land reform programme. The scheme was successful and boosted agricultural output. The scheme was one of the many schemes introduced by the Zanu-PF Government to assist farmers and the schemes included the Presidential Inputs Scheme targeting peasant and small-scale farmers in semi-arid areas of the country as well as the Farm Mechanisation Support Scheme targeting both small-scale and large-scale farmers recently beneficiaries of the Land Redistribution Programme.”
He said the allegations that formed the basis of the sanctions decision by the USA have been deliberated upon by the Public Accounts Committee of Zimbabwe’s Parliament, chaired by Tendai Biti, whom he said along with MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa are “perennial honoured guests” of the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the USA Senate, Senator Jeff Flake.
“Their missions in visiting Washington are always to plead for the extension, continuation of and intensification of USA sanctions against themselves and the Zimbabwean people. During the Public Accounts Committee Hearing chaired by Mr Biti, Sakunda Holdings placed before the committee, all documentation pertaining to all transactions on Command Agriculture and successfully demonstrated that the allegations of corruption were false, fake, fabricated and malicious including allegations that they had received US$3 billion from Government.”
Chinamasa said if Biti was man enough, he would have reported that to Senator Flake. He said without evidence of his corruption, the ruling party would continue to consider Tagwirei and Sakunda key cogs in the country’s economy and the emergence of more local business like him could only further the country’s goal of being an upper middle-class economy by 2030, Cde Chinamasa said.
“Until evidence to the contrary is established, Zanu-PF wishes to place it on record that it considers Mr Tagwirei and Sakunda Holdings a respected player and stakeholder in the economy of Zimbabwe just as we are sure General Electric is considered a respected economic player in the USA and globally. Under our policy of indigenisation and economic empowerment of previously disadvantaged under colonialism, Zanu-PF’s expectations are that the country will be able to nurture many more Tagwireis and fellow indigenous entrepreneurs to be successful world class businesses that will make impactful contribution to the reconstruction of our economy and the attainment of President ED Mnangagwa’s 2030 vision to make Zimbabwe an upper middle-income country.”
Chinamasa said Zanu-PF would not tire its efforts to safeguard the interests of Zimbabweans, while it would also not buckle under the economic pressure exerted by the US.
“Zanu-PF reiterates its unshakable position that Zimbabwe is an independent sovereign state and is not accountable to the USA or any other country. Our policy is to defend the sovereignty, freedom and independence of our people from any external threat or attack. Zanu-PF remains resolute and unshaken in discharging the mandate given to it by the blood of our people.”