United States ambassador to Harare Pamela Tremont says Zimbabwe needs to reform and change the way it is doing things to ensure democracy, investment, economic development and prosperity.
Talking journalists on Tuesday as she marked 90 days since she arrived in Zimbabwe, Tremont says the country needs political and economic reforms to promote democracy, end human rights abuses, stop political repression, combat corruption, avoid politicisation of the judiciary and selective application of the law, abandon bad policies and laws, pursue diplomatic re-engagement and promote investment to ensure prosperity and alleviate poverty.
Tremont says US sanctions have always been targeted and now only apply to 11 people under the Global Magnitsky Sanctions Programme (which deals with human rights violators and corrupt officials).
So sanctions are not the root cause of Zimbabwe’s problems, she says. Zimbabwe’s problems, she says, are internal and must be dealt with through reforms and investment promotion.
Tremont says the US supports Zimbabwe and its people as shown by verifiable sustained humanitarian and development assistance programmes.
The US has so far provided US$5 billion in aid to Zimbabwe since 1980.
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