The government says that Zimbabwe lost close to US$80 billion in revenue since Western countries imposed sanctions on the country in 2001.
This was revealed by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo.
Minister Moyo made the revelation on Monday when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He said:
It is estimated, for those who have done the studies, that Zimbabwe has lost an estimated US$42 billion in revenue because of the sanctions.
The country lost multi-lateral donor support which is estimated at US$4,5 billion annually since 2001 and US$12 billion in the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank loans which could have developed infrastructure in this country and commercial loans estimated at US$18 billion which could have gone to the private sector and into other areas and as a result of that, a reduction of GDP of over US$21 billion .
Now that’s a picture of what has been the impact of the sanctions in the past two decades.
While some political commentators have acknowledged the negative effects of sanctions on the country’s economy, they assert that the country’s major enemy is corruption by the ruling elite which has cost the country billions.
Former President Robert Mugabe, before he was overthrown in a military coup in November 2017, claimed that US$15 billion was lost due to corruption from Marange diamonds mining alone.