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Yoliswa Dube Chronicle Reporter
UNITED States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton has come face to face with Zimbabweans’ anger against his country’s imposition of sanctions on the government with Binga villagers demonstrating against Washington’s sanctions regime. Ambassador Wharton arrived in Binga on Wednesday for a two-day tour of US funded community initiatives in the district as well as appreciate Tonga culture but got a rude awakening when locals confronted him about his government’s extension of punitive measures against Zimbabwe.

The US recently rolled over, by a year, sanctions against President Mugabe, senior officials in the government and some state entities.

During a visit to Samende Social Club on Thursday, proceedings were briefly interrupted by villagers demanding the removal of sanctions imposed on the government.

Scores of villagers expressed their displeasure at Americans by staging a peaceful demonstration at the club where the envoy was donating groceries to a group of women who are members of the Zubo Women’s Assistance Non-Governmental Organisation.

The villagers were angry that the Americans were coming with hand-outs for a group and expected to be applauded, yet millions of people were suffering because of the sanctions imposed by the US on Zimbabwe.

Elias Sibanda, a Zanu-PF Binga youth leader and spokesperson for the demonstrating villagers, confronted Wharton and berated him for his country’s double standards.

“Wharton, you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You come here pretending to be a saviour yet you are the devil himself. Your country takes a hundred with the left hand and gives one with the right hand and expects to be applauded. The Binga community says NO to that”.

During his tour, the Ambassador visited the BaTonga Museum, Binga Craft Centre and the Save the Children implemented Emergency Cash for Food assistance programme in Manjolo.

He also commissioned a dip tank and a water reservoir constructed with assistance from USAID through the World Food Programme and Lead trust.

The US diplomat officiated at the Binga Career Fair hosted by Manjolo High School after visiting Binga Hospital where the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is supporting quality control programmes in various aspects of the health sector.