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| Zimbabwe’s new interim President Emmerson Mnangagwa reviews the honour guard for the first time as president after being sworn-in during a ceremony at the National Sports Stadium in Harare, on November 24 2017. Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s president on November 24, marking the final chapter of a political drama that toppled his predecessor Robert Mugabe after a military takeover. Mnangagwa, until recently one of Mugabe’s closest allies, took the oath of office at the national sports stadium on the outskirts of Harare to an explosion of cheering from the full-to-capacity crowd./ AFP PHOTO / Jekesai NJIKIZANA |
Zimbabwe’s new president on Tuesday gave a three-month ultimatum for the return of funds siphoned out of the country by individuals and corporations, as he moves to stem graft and revive the moribund economy.
“The government of Zimbabwe is gazetting a three-month moratorium within which those involved in the malpractice can bring back the funds and assets, with no questions being asked or charges preferred against them,” Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a statement.
The amnesty period will run from December 1.
“Upon expiry of the three-month window, the government will proceed to effect arrest of all those who would not have complied with this directive and will ensure that they are prosecuted in terms of the country’s laws,” he said.
Mnangagwa, who took over from long ruling Robert Mugabe last week after a military intervention, said the operation had discovered that huge funds were illegally externalised.
The military operation which saw tanks rolling down the street and culminated in Mugabe’s resignation, helped unearth “cases where huge sums of money and other assets were illegally externalised by certain individuals and corporates,” he said.
“Such malpractices constitute a very serious economic crime against the people of Zimbabwe which the government of Zimbabwe will never condone.”
Zimbabwe is facing a perennial liquidity crunch which has worsened in recent months leaving banks with little or no cash.
Mnangagwa, 75, was sworn-in last Friday vowing to fight corruption, protect foreign investment and create jobs to help re-build the troubled economy.
AFP
“The government of Zimbabwe is gazetting a three-month moratorium within which those involved in the malpractice can bring back the funds and assets, with no questions being asked or charges preferred against them,” Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a statement.
The amnesty period will run from December 1.
“Upon expiry of the three-month window, the government will proceed to effect arrest of all those who would not have complied with this directive and will ensure that they are prosecuted in terms of the country’s laws,” he said.
Mnangagwa, who took over from long ruling Robert Mugabe last week after a military intervention, said the operation had discovered that huge funds were illegally externalised.
The military operation which saw tanks rolling down the street and culminated in Mugabe’s resignation, helped unearth “cases where huge sums of money and other assets were illegally externalised by certain individuals and corporates,” he said.
“Such malpractices constitute a very serious economic crime against the people of Zimbabwe which the government of Zimbabwe will never condone.”
Zimbabwe is facing a perennial liquidity crunch which has worsened in recent months leaving banks with little or no cash.
Mnangagwa, 75, was sworn-in last Friday vowing to fight corruption, protect foreign investment and create jobs to help re-build the troubled economy.
AFP
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