ownership. However, at present, because of this, very few banks are still prepared to act as correspondent banks for transfers to Zimbabwe. Apparently, only six such banks remain, and one may be sure that the cost of their services is not competitive. Nonetheless, this is ultimately an inconvenience rather than economically debilitating. Undue Caution There is anecdotal evidence that some companies, particularly those based in the US, aware that there is some sort of sanctions programme against Zimbabwe, but without bothering to determine what it is, have declined to do business with Zimbabwean companies to avoid any risk of falling foul of OFAC regulations. There are suggestion that this has included lines of credit to some Zimbabwean manufacturers, previously reliant on US offshore loans for operations. However, there is no firm evidence or reports on this available and it is not known how extensive this is or the exact impact. Furthermore, some financial platforms are unable to control specific payees. Thus Paypal, for example, suspended any transactions involving Zimbabwean IP addresses. The Government Narratives The Government of Zimbabwe maintains that the sanctions were imposed as a response to its redistributive land policies and not as a result of misgovernance, state engendered violence and human rights violations. It has also consistently stated that the sanctions are against Zimbabwe and not against targeted individuals. The sanctions, it is claimed, hurts “ordinary Zimbabweans” the most, causing “untold misery”. Rather than this misery being untold, it has been frequently recounted in the state media and in articles by ZANU PF apologists. Numerous such articles were published immediately before the SADC “anti-sanctions march”. Many articles of this ilk take the view that not only do US sanctions hurt ordinary Zimbabweans, rather than the targeted individuals and entities, but that this is their intent – and successfully achieved. Almost invariably, a supposed quote from Chester Crocker, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, to the following effect is deployed for this purpose: [t]o separate the Zimbabwean people from Zanu-PF, we are going to have to make their economy scream, and I hope you, Senators, have the stomach for what you have to do.41 The quote is fabricated. As was cogently demonstrated several years ago42 through the presentation of the transcript43 of the hearing before the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations House of Representatives in June, 2000 where the statement was allegedly made, Crocker said nothing of the sort or even words that could be construed to mean this.44 Furthermore, almost all these articles fail to show how sanctions are “effecting ordinary Zimbabweans”. Instead they show the hardships experienced by ordinary Zimbabweans on account of Zimbabwe’s difficult economic circumstances and economic decline over the last two decades. This is 41 See, as a recent example of this ZIDERA: It was Never about Democracy The Herald 23.10.19. By Ambassador Charles Ray (February 2012) Putting Urban Legends to Rest: What Chester Crocker Actually Said about Zimbabwe in 2001 (sic – the statement is from 2000). 43 Available here https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-106hhrg66616/pdf/CHRG-106hhrg66616.pdf. 44 The legend has not been put to rest. A recent publication by Munoda Mararike, Zimbabwe Will Never be a Colony Again!: Sanctions and Anti-Imperialist Struggles in Zimbabwe Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group 2019 Bamenda Cameroon also cites the Crocker quote and then, ironically, references the Charles Ray article (fn 2) as a source. 42 12