Boycotting international business with Zimbabwe a “justifiable cause”

By Alex Bell
26 June 2008

The pressure on international companies doing business with Zimbabwe, to withdraw their agreements, is growing as critics condemn global trading that is effectively funding the Mugabe regime.

On Wednesday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the business world should question its involvement in Zimbabwe. He said: "We do not want to do further damage to the Zimbabwean people, but when businesses are helping the Mugabe regime, they should reconsider their positions."

Economic analyst Bekithemba Mhlanga told Newsreel that putting pressure on companies to withdraw their interest is “a justifiable cause” and that history shows that economic pressure can force change in a country in crisis.

A string of UK companies on Wednesday defended their interests in Zimbabwe, many of which they said were historical, and stressed that the safety of their staff was their top priority.
Mining giant Anglo American defended its £200m project to mine platinum in Zimbabwe. Anglo said in a statement it is "monitoring the situation in Zimbabwe very closely and is reviewing all options surrounding the development of the project".

The company added: "It has been made clear to Anglo American that, if it ceases to develop this project, the government of Zimbabwe will assume control." It also said the livelihoods of hundreds of people would be threatened if it pulled out of Zimbabwe.

Barclays, which has a 67pc stake in Barclays Bank Zimbabwe, and has to buy government bonds there under its banking licence, said it was "compliant with EU sanctions regarding Zimbabwe".
It said that its services are "critically relied upon" by many of its "135,000 customers for their day-to-day operations to maintain access to banking and employment, with a wider benefit to connected businesses and the economy. This continued presence brings the benefit of avoiding additional hardship than is already being experienced within the country".

But Mhlanga said the companies are using the livelihoods of Zimbabweans as an excuse, and said: “Any pressure for companies to pull out is unlikely to have any negative degradation on the living standards there.” He said the current situation, with the economy in free fall, is already intolerable and companies should stop their involvement with a dictatorship that has caused the crisis.

Mhlanga said companies would be able to find other ways to protect their employees. He said Anglo American, for example, should put their wage bills up for scrutiny and see “what percentage of its economic return the wages actually constitute”.

Mhlanga added that since all political actions have not yielded a result, consumer should consider “blockading the entire financial system that is keeping Zimbabwe going”.