South African President Jacob Zuma heads next week to Britain where he will lobby not only the government but Queen Elizabeth to lift sanctions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and other senior ZANU PF figures, political sources said Thursday.
Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has said it will make no concessions on outstanding issues related to the Global Political Agreement for power sharing in the Southern African country until Western targeted travel and financial restrictions have been lifted.
London-based political analyst Mqondobanzi Magonya told VOA Studio 7 reporter Brenda Moyo that Zuma, designated mediator in Zimbabwe by the Southern African Development Community, should take the lead in seeking the lifting of the Western sanctions.
London based analyst Msekiwa Makwanya told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu that Mr. Zuma’s appeal to London on the sanctions is legitimate and sound.
A senior U-S diplomat in Zimbabwe told journalists this week that American sanctions have had no impact on Zimbabwe's economy because they have targeted high officials from Mr. Mugabe down the ZANU-PF power structure. Economic adviser James Garry emphasized that Washington has no influence on Zimbabwe's relationship with the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions.
Garry said Zimbabwe had damaged its relations with the IMF in years past by failing to pay arrears. The IMF last week restored Zimbabwe’s voting rights in the Bretton Woods institution, though Harare cannot obtain new loans until it settles arrears with the IMF, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.