British government criticised for hosting businessmen linked to Mugabe regime

via British government criticised for hosting businessmen linked to Mugabe regime – The Independent by Jim Armitage Monday 27 January 2014

Zimbabwean trade delegation is said to include vocal supporters of indigenisation laws and violence

The British government today came under fire for playing host to a delegation of Zimbabwean businessmen, some of whom are closely linked to the regime of Robert Mugabe.

Wealthy tycoons from the country will meet with officials and British businesses at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office this afternoon to discuss ways of improving trade with British investors.

Sanctions still apply to Mr Mugabe, his wife Grace and a number of other top Zimbabweans due to corruption and human rights abuses.

Meanwhile, British farmers in the country – many of whom were invited by the Mugabe regime in happier times – continue to have their farms forcibly possessed under the so-called “indigenisation” laws. This allows for white-owned businesses to be seized by local black Africans and is now said to be extending to smaller firms and smallholdings.

Opposition activists argue Charles Msipa, one of the delegates in London, is connected to some of the Mugabe regime’s most notorious members including Saviour Kasukuwere, previous minister for indigenisation, who is alleged to have been involved in the violent repossession of white farms. The son of Mr Mugabe’s friend and former Zanu PF provincial governor Cephas Msipa, Mr Msipa is also said to be linked to the feared Emmerson  Mnangagwa, the former head of Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation. Mr Mnangagwa was widely blamed for the brutality during the 2008 presidential election.

Mr Msipa runs Schweppes Zimbabwe after reportedly being handed the position following the company’s seizure by Mr Mnangagwa’s faction.

Another delegate, Kumbirayi Katsande, the manager of Nestle Zimbabwe, is the brother of Colonel Christian Katsande. Shingai Mutasa, also due in London today, has been a loud and vocal advocate of the seizure of assets from whites, declaring last year: “Indigenisation has removed the biggest barriers for empowerment and we should all be part of it.”

Mike Johnson, a 52-year-old white farmer in Zimbabwe warned new investors of his experiences: “Anyone can take a pot-shot at you, from the local MP, to brigadier so-and-so, to your employees.” A representative of white British farmers in Zimbabwe said: “Since the invasion of white-owned farms in 2000, Zimbabwe has become, and remains, one of the most hostile countries for business in the world.”

White farmers feel their experiences should serve as a warning to new potential British investors. One pointed out that the country had been ranked 170 out of 189 in the World Bank’s assessment in 2014, Ease of Doing Business.

“From the constitution down,” said Roy Bennett, a senior member of the Zimbabwean opposition, “Zimbabwean law is blatantly and flagrantly racist.”

However, the west has rapidly unwound many of the sanctions on the country in the past year due to a constitutional referendum, followed by a general election, which Mr Mugabe’s Zanu PF won amid opposition claims of vote rigging.

The Zimbabwean businessmen are in London as part of a tour of EU capitals. A British foreign and commonwealth office spokesman said: “We have made clear to senior members of Zanu-PF that whilst economic empowerment is important, the manner in which indigenisation is implemented in Zimbabwe may act as a deterrent to much-needed foreign investment.”

However, he added that promoting trade with the outside world would benefit the lives of Zimbabwe’s citizens by offering employment and business taxes.

COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 8
  • comment-avatar
    DubboZimbo 11 years ago

    Let the poms invest and get shafted, it will be hilarious to watch them scuttle back home complaining Mugabe is a thief.

  • comment-avatar
    Revenger-avenger 11 years ago

    Yeah. The naive gullible brits put mugabe in power in 1980. Their UK embassy in Harares clueless. Deport them to China with their begging bowls. Failed corrupt pseudo captains of industry commerce.professional fraudsterss

  • comment-avatar

    The Brits also have a lot to answer for!

  • comment-avatar
    Charles Chamunorwa 11 years ago

    At least one of the delegates of the businessmen delegation is a jail bird, a criminal, check their back grounds. He was in prison and how can such characters be entrusted to source investments. I urge the british people to open their eyes.

  • comment-avatar
    John Steele 11 years ago

    Useless gullible poms!!!They will never learn, the mess that country is in is solely due to the fact they forced it to be handed over to the criminals in power now!

  • comment-avatar

    I have said it once before and I say it again. “The grave yards of the world are littered with the bodies of people who trusted the British Governments”.
    Being British makes me want to hang my head in shame.

  • comment-avatar
    Only Fools 11 years ago

    Useless 2 faced poms sitting in an office in London deciding on the fate of Zimbabweans. And of course when ZANU PF has what they want, they give MaBlitish the finger. So typical! You would think the British would learn!

  • comment-avatar
    chikhangalapfula moses shoko 11 years ago

    we should always talk thingss out, i thing what the BRITISH goverment is correct and right way forward.
    thank you.