US freezes Zim embassy account

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has claimed that Zimbabwean embassy officials failed to access their salaries after the United States government allegedly froze the embassy bank account. 

Chinamasa made the claims while speaking at the Zimbabwe International Business Conference at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).

“I could not believe it when I was told that the US had frozen the embassy account and this created problems because we could not send money to pay the embassy workers their salaries.

“We advised them to open a new account with a different bank, but this was not possible as every other bank gave them flimsy excuses,” said the minister.

According to Chinamasa the bank account was only unfrozen after Zimbabwe took the matter up with the US State Department.

“I know that the account has been unfrozen, but why do that in the first place? The account was only opened after talking to the State Department. Why go that far?” asked Chinamasa.

The US and the European Union among other western countries imposed sanctions on the Mugabe regime in response to gross human rights abuses. Several officials and companies have been removed over the years as a reward for progress towards reforms.