"He said there was wealth in the land as evidenced by the returns that resettled farmers have yielded saying the whites tried to hoodwink Zimbabweans into thinking that there was no wealth in farming by putting on shorts and dressing shabbily." Please! Is this some sign of senility or is he getting really desperate to think of something new to say?

of course the oppostion has "regime change agenda" thats what opposition parties do!

LOL, he's really grasping at straws now eh!

I keep seeing accusations that the MDC is somehow sponsored or controlled by the west. Yet, no evidence is ever provided to support such a claim. Would any Mugabe supporter care to provide such evidence? I won't hold my breath.

Pat, if you want evidence it is right in these posts. Why is every white person's post on this site anti Mugabe? And why do people like 'Indie' and 'beefree' who are not Zimbabweans have SO much to say about Zimbabwe? It occupies all their time. Why is Zimbabwe of so much interest to the western media and yet there are worse things happening in the world as we speak? Any why is Mugabe/ZANU PF prepared to go to war? Most Zimbabwean's know that Mugabe is RIGHT and the only reason this mdc gets some support is because of the hardship created by the illegal sanctions.

You just won't shut up about sanctions will you Kuba., even after we have proven time and time again that they don't exist.

Look at how many black people are anti-Mugabe on this site. You only see the whites because you're a sad little racist.

To liars and the ignorant sanctions don't exist to everyone else here's the truth:

by Tadie Chisango - 2007

"Western Sanctions, the MDC's complicity and the Economy:

Enumerating the economic sanctions and documenting their direct effects in total on Zimbabwe is not an easy task, practically. The difficulty of this task should not necessarily mean that there are no sanctions on Zimbabwe, however. What is possible, and that other writers before me have tried to do is to demonstrate that there are definitely some economic sanctions by the West targeted upon the entirety of Zimbabwe, not only Zanu PF officials, which the MDC and its sympathizers deny. Inferences can then be made about the full extent of the sanctions. Far from dismissing the so-called targeted sanctions, I will argue how they have adversarial effects on our economy. I will also argue that the MDC has been complicit in all the sanctions that have been imposed, or maintained, after its inception. The love-hate relationship between the IMF and the World Bank predates the formation of the MDC, for example, but its maintenance and the imposition of further sanctions (such as the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill) that entrenched it and have done further damage, have received the blessing of the MDC. If the MDC supported the sanctions unwittingly, believing they would only damage the interests of Zanu PF, its high time they acknowledged their naivety, and start repairing their damage. As long as they continue playing to the West's gallery, without openly renouncing the sanctions, they are responsible for the suffering the sanctions are meting out on our country. Once they renounce the sanctions, the West will look lame, and not have the excuse for the anti-Zimbabwe din they are currently playing to the world. At least, I hope the evidence and arguments I will present in this article graphically demonstrate the existence of the West's sanctions on Zimbabwe, as I have witnessed much denial on the part of those who support the West and the MDC.

The IMF and World Bank's Sanctions

Both the IMF and the World Bank suspended balance of payments to Zimbabwe in 1997 after the Government gave gratuities to ex-combatants. This is despite the fact that they had been assured that money would not come from investment funds, but from a package of tax increases and spending cuts. The suspension of the balance-of-payment loans invoked fears of a ballooning budget deficit that resulted in the first ever crash of the Zimbabwean dollar, and has partly facilitated the incessant fall of the Zimbabwean currency up to the present time. It must be emphasized that it is not the payments to ex-combatants that caused the decline of our currency, but the reaction of the IMF and the World Bank. Had they let it pass, as it was a one-off event anyway, I doubt it could have created an impact as huge as the unexpected cutting of crucial balance-of-payment loans. When the IMF finally agreed to provide a loan in 1999, Zimbabwe was, for the first time since independence, $20 million a month behind in its foreign debt repayment, resulting in a $190 million deficit for 1999. The sanctions were re-introduced in 2001, and still stand today.

The "Zimbabwe Democracy Bill" (2001)

The introduction of the "Zimbabwe Democracy Bill" by the US in 2001 set to entrench the financial starvation of Zimbabwe, which the IMF had been sporadically engaging in, as shown above. On December 21, 2001, US President George W. Bush signed into law S. 494, the "Zimbabwe democracy bill." The law, among other things, instructed American officials in the IMF and multilateral development banks - including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the 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 -to "oppose and vote against any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the government of Zimbabwe," and to vote against any reduction or cancellation of "indebtedness owed by the government of Zimbabwe."

The above are virtually all the banks IN THE WORLD which could potentially lend money to Zimbabwe. Disturbingly, Zimbabwe cannot even borrow from Africa's own banks. Prior to the bill, at least Zimbabwe could obtain credit from other international financial institutions when the IMF and the World Bank cut its credit lines. This effectively means that Zimbabwe is one of the very few countries in the world that currently exists without any balance of payments support and external lines of credit. The only external alternative Zimbabwe is left with is borrowing from other governments, which is not very easy. Only recently, Zimbabwe failed to get a loan from both South Africa and China. We should note that in the developing world in general, it is the rule rather than the exception to experience persistent trade deficits that often necessitate government from some of the above institutions. Without such external funding, no economy in the developing world survives, and Zimbabwe is no exception. From the Zimbabwean perspective, this law can only be described as "cruel". On its own, I guess it has been significant enough to plunge the economy in its present down spiral, with any other sanctions/measures only having additive effects. The support the MDC gave to the enunciation of this law renders them an enemy of our people.

In addition, the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy Bill vetoes debt relief to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe needs debt relief now more than ever, in order to invest in capital and social development, rather than spend its already depleted foreign reserves on servicing debt. Huge debt is not necessarily a sign of mismanagement, as some people will say, so Zimbabwe should not be punished for it, unless the motive is ulterior. For everyone's information, the most indebted countries have the biggest economies in Africa and India, quite a model economy for us, is easily the most indebted developing country in the world. The US and its allies are throttling Zimbabwe's throat!

European Union Sanctions:

On February 18, 2002, the European Union's foreign to imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe. Under terms of the sanctions, The European Union suspended budgetary support to Zimbabwe and terminated "financial support for all projects" except "those in direct support of the population." All financial aid would be "reoriented in support of the population, in particular in the social sectors, democratization, respect for human rights and the rule of law." With Zimbabwe banned from obtaining credit from the IMF and the World Bank, prohibited from borrowing money from any other of the World's major financial institutions by the USA, and with Europe terminating its support, the vicious stamp on Zimbabwe comes full-cycle. It is only paradoxical that the EU has "reoriented" its support to the "population" which will inevitably be hurt by its "suspension of budgetary support and termination of financial support for all projects".

The European Union denies that it has imposed trade sanctions on Zimbabwe (pdf). At the same time, some evidence at least points to the fact that the EU has withdrawn its sugar export quota it had for Zimbabwe. If these are not trade sanctions, then what the hell are they? This actually reminds me of an interview Jonathan Moyo gave to Zimnetradio.com, in which he appeared to claim that farms seized during the land reform program had been black-listed by the European Union. Having conveniently maintained the EU and the USA as traditional markets inherited from the colonial period, any trade sanctions they impose/have imposed on Zimbabwe, whether de jure or de facto certainly can be expected to have biting effects as building new ones cannot be done overnight.

Other De Facto Sanctions:

The above example on the trade sanctions suggests that not all sanctions targeted on Zimbabwe are in Black somewhere. The view I have expressed above is buttressed by the following example:

"Zimbabwe receives an average of just $4 per HIV-infected person compared with $74 elsewhere, Ms Bellamy told reporters in Johannesburg on her last tour of Africa as head of Unicef...The world must differentiate between the politics and people of Zimbabwe," she said, as reported by the BBC.

Can somebody tell me please: what justifies the condemnation of children to death? The fact that they hate Mugabe predicts their desire to actively partake in the demise of these kids!? This is but a tip of the iceberg! They at least feel that they do not really have an obligation, and it's just an act of charity that they are helping these kids, so they have at least the guts to publish their hate. There is much behind the scenes!

Another example demonstrates the extent to which the US and British Governments are ready to go, even against individual Zimbabweans. Long after Simba Makoni resigned from the Government, the US Government successfully blocked his campaign for the post of president of the African Development Bank. Surely, it is not at all sensible that they maintain sanctions against Simba Makoni because he is a FORMER Minister of finance. And to suggest, even at the most implicit level, that Simba Makoni is, or was involved in, or supported, or facilitated, or perpetuated, any of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe is sheer nonsense!

Simba Makoni is not a full-fledged politician at all, having been incorporated into government as the Minister of finance solely on his business, not political CV and had to be fast-tracked into the politburo to make his position as the Minister get in line with Zanu PF protocols. If the West [The US and EU] say the sanctions are targeted at Zimbabwe's ruling elite, which they accuse of stifling democracy as well as violating human rights, how is Simba Makoni part of the game? How is he stifling democracy? Is he violating/has he violated any human rights? I can only guess there are other de facto sanctions the EU, the US and their satellite states have imposed on us that we haven't yet been able to understand.

Depleting our national "goodwill" through Media Demonization

I make another bold claim that the demonization the West does of Zimbabwe is tantamount to sanctions. The Herald is a Zimbabwean government owned Newspaper and the BBC is a British owned government owned broadcaster. The Herald is a government owned newspaper in Zimbabwe, and the BBC is a British government owned broadcaster. The Herald is obviously pro Zimbabwe Government and anti-British Government, while the BBC is basically anti-Zimbabwe. One major difference between the 2 is that the BBC is able to harness its resources to inform and bias world opinion on Zimbabwe. The Herald cannot inform World opinion in any concrete way that is comparable to the BBC. They are able to paint the Zimbabwean Government and society as essentially anti-White, for example, such that any "White" person may be hacked to death upon alighting a plane at the Harare airport.

They don't tell the world that the majority of the major companies, mines, and conservancies are in fact owned by Whites in Zimbabwe, and that they live quite peacefully in Zimbabwe's picturesque suburbs like Glen Lorne. They paint a grotesque picture of Mugabe willfully starving his people, but don't tell us how much the sanctions they have imposed on Zimbabwe harm ordinary people. They make millions of the world's population believe that Zimbabwe is the hell on earth full of animal-like beings perpetually scrounging for food in the rubbish dumps. To my mind, this produces a profound effect that can be captured in $ terms.

The so-called targeted sanctions

While we celebrate that Zanu PF "fat cats" are reeling under the effects of the so-called targeted sanctions, they in fact have a broad side-effect on the economy. Who wants to do business with a people whose Government is treated like dare-devils by both the USA and the EU? Again, it's a matter of depleting our national goodwill. While the EU and the USA claim there are no trade sanctions on Zimbabwe (which I have disputed above anyway) is it not necessary for the trade minister of Zimbabwe to meet his British counterpart once in a while, or any other business people in Britain and the rest of the EU, the USA, or in Australia, New Zealand and Canada? Does this have a null effect on Zimbabwe's business capacity and on its business relations with the above countries and in fact the rest of the world? We would only be very naïve to believe the opposite. In addition, some of the Zanu PF officials, no matter that we may not like them, own businesses that contribute to the GDP of the country.

Did we not become a bit perturbed the other day when the father of Prince Charles of Britain's son's girlfriend, who runs conservancies in Zimbabwe, had to defend himself on the charges by the West that his businesses dealings help sustain the "Mugabe Regime?" The man lives in Zimbabwe and is not supposed to have business links which are deemed by the West to prop the Mugabe regime? My foot! This gives us a "privileged view" into the devilish intents of the West on Zimbabwe in general, and the Zimbabweans whose livelihoods depend upon Charles Davey's operations. More recently, the Western sponsored International Crisis Group, advocated for the addition of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Governor to the targeted sanctions list. I am not naïve enough to believe that this would affect Gono as an individual, with zero effect on the Reserve Bank's activities. And somebody would have me believe that the Reserve Bank is part of Mugabe's regime, and not part of the Zimbabwean economy.

Pressure on Sadc and other African countries

Within the present context, I wish to highlight the fact that the West has also tried to coerce African countries into imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwe. They were going for a kill! For example, the Extraordinary Summit of the South African Development Community (SADC) opened in Blantyre, Malawi on January 14, 2002, Britain threatened to withhold $18 million in budgetary support from Malawi, the chair of the SADC, unless it agreed to direct the SADC towards the imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe. This was a significant portion of Malawi's budget. Britain also held the threat of withholding aid for Malawi's food crisis. Similar threats to withdraw budgetary support were wielded against Mozambique. At the summit, President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania announced that British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Baroness Amos telephoned him directly and urged him not to support Zimbabwe at the SADC and at the upcoming meeting of the Commonwealth. When that call failed, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw then telephoned and attempted to bully him. Despite intense pressure from Britain, African leaders at the March 2002 Commonwealth meeting rejected the demand for sanctions against Zimbabwe. President Mkapa of Tanzania revealed that members of the Commonwealth had endured a "bombardment of an alliance against Mugabe"

Accepting that economic sanctions exist

All in all, thus, I hope I have shown clearly that there indeed are economic sanctions against Zimbabwe by the West. I have seen a lot of MDC supporters who are either ignorant of, or deny the fact that Zimbabwe as a country is under economic sanctions by the West. The denial or ignorance is in line with the ubiquitous belief that Mugabe has single-handedly "killed the economy". This belief cannot sit comfortably with the fact that the West has knowingly introduced insufferable conditions on ordinary Zimbabweans. It's high time we accommodated the fact that there is a Western plot on our economy and acknowledge that we do not have anything to gain as a country from the sanctions. The difficulty in defining them does not mean they are not there, only to reiterate. It is very easy for powerful bully countries to fire economic "missiles" to states they are in loggerheads with. Unlike military ones, these economic missiles are invisible. We may gladly blame Mugabe the monster for attracting the sanctions, but I

Why didn't you just post the link and we could have read the rest of this guff?

Notice the word, "Opinion", I suggest we read it in it's entirity and contemplate what the author DOESN'T say rather than what he says.

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/opinion258.16231.html