Lesotho PM: Targeted Sanctions Hurting Zimbabwe

Visiting Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane says the West should remove sanctions imposed on President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF colleagues as they are hurting ordinary Zimbabweans.

Officially opening the 102nd edition of the Harare Agricultural Show on Friday, Mr. Thabane said the West and European Union punished President Mugabe for embarking on the controversial land reform program.

He said Zimbabwean leaders have over the years been condemned by the West for reclaiming land “stolen by the white settle regime”.

Meanwhile, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has restored interconnection services between its mobile providers and the state-owned Netone after cutting it off for failing to settle a $20.4 million debt.

In a statement, Econet’s attorneys said the company has agreed to restore the services pending a court decision Monday.

The disruption of services affected thousands of subscribers in the country.

Econet said Thursday that Netone had not only failed to pay the debt which has been accumulating since 2009, but claimed that the two companies did not have any interconnection services agreement.