By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe’s Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services secretary, Nick Mangwana, has said countries under sanctions have to find ways of circumventing the sanctions.

His remarks come after Al Jazeera released the 1st episode of its documentary titled Gold Mafia which is an expose of illicit trade in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.

has attracted brickbats after indirectly defending alleged gold smuggling exposed in Al Jeezera’s documentary Gold Mafia: The Laundry Service.

In a Twitter post, Mangwana said:

Countries under Sanctions have to find ways of circumventing the sanctions. This may mean having to procure supplies through third parties or sell in a grey market. They pay pay a premium for this. This is exactly what the UN Rapporteur Alena Douhan was talking about #RussianOil

The first of a four-part documentary was aired last week in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ambassador-at-large, Uebert Mudzanire, alias prophet Uebert Angel and the President’s niece Henrietta Rushwaya were implicated in the alleged gold smuggling activities.

The second episode of the documentary is scheduled to air this Thursday.

Responding to Mangwana’s Twitter post, Pedzisai Ruhanya, the director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute Mangwana’s tricks won’t work. He posted on Twitter:

A government spokesperson can’t surely defend gold smuggling, corruption and Stone Age accumulation. This lie won’t stick. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has spoken out that it’s not sanctioned. This area is not Nick’s zone of competence or expertise. We have RBZ digital footprints to falsify the lie by Nick.

Nick Mangwana should read the propaganda model (Herman and Chomsky, 1988) and so clearly understand political communication in the digital age to avoid these childish rants.

Award-winning journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, responded to Mangwana’s remarks saying the secretary was lying. He said:

Mr Nick Mangwana is testing the waters; it is a futile attempt to defend gold smuggling using a lie. The RBZ Governor John Mangudya issued a statement… saying the bank is not sanctioned. Everything else is crude propaganda and lies.

Before the first episode of the Al Jazeera documentary was screened, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, John Mangudya said Zimbabwean exports and imports were not under sanctions.

The documentary says Zimbabwe is engaged in illicit trade in gold to “circumvent international sanctions.”