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Ambassador Harry K Thomas Jnr

Felex Share, Harare Bureau
THE United States of America government has lined up investors that are coming to have a look at the available investment opportunities in Zimbabwe following the ascendency of President Emmerson Mnangagwa to power late last year, US ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Harry Thomas Jnr has said.

Ambassador Thomas Jnr was speaking after paying a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare yesterday, where he also applauded the new dispensation.

He commended President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration for making sturdy progress in improving Zimbabwe’s relations with the international community.

“We told him (President Mnangagwa) that our government has investors coming to look at Zimbabwe,” said Ambassador Thomas Jnr.

“They will continue to come and look, and we will continue to provide humanitarian aid and we hope to find ways to also partner with Zimbabwe and its people.

“We congratulated him, wished him makorokoto on becoming the President of this country.”

Ambassador Thomas Jnr said the illegal sanctions the US imposed on Zimbabwe were a prerogative of President Donald Trump.

“Sanctions are up to the President of the United States and the Senate and so they will make decisions on what happens in terms of the future relationship,” he said.

“But how we see it here is your President is promising progress in bilateral and multilateral relations and we applaud that.”

The US imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) as a response to Harare’s decision to redistribute land held by a few white farmers to more than 300 000 previously disadvantaged black families.

Zidera bars all international financial institutions in which the US has representation or shareholding from cooperating with Zimbabwe, contrary to claims that the sanctions are “targeted” at a few political elites.

Ambassador Thomas Jnr said President Mnangagwa had laid down his vision to them, which included the holding of free and fair elections this year.

“It was a pleasure and honour for our team to have the opportunity to call on His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, to share our vision and his vision for the future of this country,” he said.

“He made it clear that his interests are in supporting the people of Zimbabwe and that he is going to hold free, fair and credible elections and that he was going to reform and improve the economy.”

President Mnangagwa has managed to convince the world that Zimbabwe is now open for business, the message he has been carrying to various international gatherings and countries.

He recently revealed that since he took over the highest office in the land in November last year, Zimbabwe has managed to attract foreign direct investment to the tune of $3 billion.