Zimbabwe president to name Mugabe-era looters in March 2018 if...

Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa says he has a list of people who looted the treasury and has given a deadline for the voluntary return of such funds.

In an address on Thursday to ruling ZANU-PF party officials, the 75-year-old said a March 2018 deadline had been set by the government failure for which he will name and shame the persons on his list.

The state-run Herald newspaper posted a video in which the president is heard saying, “Under the new administration, we have given three months for those who had taken money out of this country to bring it back. I did not say that without knowledge, I have a list of who took money out.

“So in March (2018) when the period expires, those who would have not heeded my moratorium, I’ll name them,” he added. He also called for party and national unity and the unconditional removal of political and economic sanctions imposed by the west on his government.

Mnangagwa, 75, became leader of the southern African nation last month after the military and ruling ZANU-PF turned against Robert Mugabe. “Going forward we call for the unconditional lifting of the political and economic sanctions which have crippled our national development.

We realise that isolation is not splendid or viable, as there is more to gain through solidarity and mutually beneficial partnerships which will help us realize our unique national interests. Government will thus pursue a robust re-engagement process to fully affirm our belonging to the family of nations,” he added.

While the European Union removed sanctions on ZANU-PF officials, members of the military and some government-owned firms in 2014, the United States has kept a travel and economic embargo on several ruling party elites.