or are they and i mean he was the future of the future you with your children you would go with him but he was really little he's going to go to good looking my dad worked for roger donald trump a lot of your putin were 2 part documentary analyzing the difficult relationship between russia and the west and between their presidents how does their rivalry and their dangerous mutual admiration for the rest of the world to some bullies putin starts august 3rd on d w. the we believe that we are on a corrupt should probably even fears of the iraq war to be behind those levels of government why not just investigate. further. when you have a book to take painful decisions to the left decide the economy more than 2 years ago zimbabwe and its long time rulings and party appeared to be turning a corner when amberson and mangled work took office and promised

a break from nearly 4 decades of robert mugabe's brutal authoritarian rule and economic mismanagement but hopes for a quick recovery have been dashed the country now cases the worst economic and humanitarian crisis in a decade and critics question the political will to stamp out rampant corruption and human rights abuses my guest this week is involve ways minister of foreign affairs and international trade. more you as a former army chief he was also the face of the military coup that propelled and non-god watts of power who was involved way ever be able to see genuine political and economic reform. foreign minister and see both you so much oil welcome to conflict zone thank you joe. you were the face of the military overthrow of robert mugabe back in 2017

as a commander you got on television in your uniform to assure the public of a stable transition back then you were the heroes of the hour now you have an economy close to collapse with fuel food electricity shortages where is the hope in zimbabwe right now world thank you very much cetera yes the change in 2017 and the advent of the current government which is the 2nd dispensation was as a result of a lot of issues but among those was the issue of the economy and the disappeared the public took over an economy which had been in distress for many is for different reasons some of the dissidents could be sanctions and then some of the reasons could be that of management but this me say that

there was hope and there's still hope. because we have what due to painful decisions to the 5 economy from where it was these political decisions are the ones which appear as if they're making people lose hope but in reality. get 2 teams right and i want to talk about you mentioned sanctions you mentioned management of the certainly issues that we're going to address but right now the i.m.f. is saying that you're in an economic and humanitarian crisis the worst economic crisis in more than a decade against that backdrop i'd like to talk about the priorities of your government right now because you have recently made headlines for splurging millions to purchase top of the range vehicles for nearly 50 ambassadors across the globe while the state is failing to pay civil servants

a living wage how can you justify such a spending spree when millions are facing hunger. no the whole issue. is is is is best on the fundamentals this economy has got very strong fundamentals and that strong of sentiment those done what was that before and all of the issues which we are before me at the moment in his fire as the economy is concerned is the. currency it has been the cottons which has caused inflation but as you are well with the auction system but mr foreign minister just to bring it back we see issue because ultimately you purchase these vehicles and just to give our viewers a bit of context they were between $40.00 and $50000.00 per via call when we're talking about the average civil servant this is the middle class in your economy

they are making the equivalent of $1.80 a day and you're purchasing $40.00 to $50000.00 vehicles on you not out of tune with the priorities and the needs of your population with that money have been better spent elsewhere not a most sure set out which they're talking about the variables which the one thing i announced for the new orleans very primitive and we have had to ensure that our own deployments. are more well. and that was quite a serious issue when we took over because the conditions of our diplomats externally was really. quite ups because they were moving with as they were moving with. something which is not. appropriate for a deployment was assigned for admission and therefore by variables for the

diplomas was quite one of those measures which would turkey breasts the situation of our diplomats but finally you admit it doesn't look good boy it doesn't look good in an economy where we're 63 percent of the population live below the poverty line yeah but whatever the cost of those their cause was not necessarily the issue which is caused the economy to be where you tease the quantum it has been like this we are changing we are reforming it we are undertaking specific key decisions which are oriented to the economy and it among them is the stubble as they should of the extent of it but we're also doing a lot of the economy conforms which ensures that even the investment development community is free to come in within the hour months of open for business

let's talk a little bit more about that mantra and those reforms that you have been making in order to get the economy back on track because as you mentioned you promised that the economy would be open for business i'd like to begin on the economic front with your currency reforms because a really big source of tension right now has been the reintroduction of your local currency. last year after a decade of official use of the us dollar very quickly that local currency rapidly lost value would tend prices rocketing raising fears of renewed hyper inflation but you have been. quoted as saying the following that the return of the zimbabwean dollar is basically stabilizing the economy from what it was. is that really a message that's appropriate to send to the people of your country when the price of almost everything has ballooned a loaf of bread can essentially gobble up a few expansion settle the scenario which is happening on the ground

is that this economy had norm wanted out of policy. way or fixing it it only had to discard the fiscal side and therefore the to work on systems of. the economy both the fiscal and the monetary policy had to be. adjusted and that's why we head to introduce our own currency and our own currency is critical for our own people in terms of. planning and in terms of expenditure yes we are facing challenges because of the changes we had to be in place and the they did challenges have been that our currency was not stable and it therefore we had to have been. such measures which to me in the letter with introduce the.

oh excuse me foreign minister i just want to follow up with you and ask you because to address some of this criticism though in the way that you rolled out this currency because we have a condom a saying that you rushed to reintroduce it without the backing of a foreign currency the i.m.f. cites missteps in foreign exchange and monetary reforms that have failed to restore confidence chatham house also saying that it has had limited results do you have any regrets not a whole sept. it is appropriate and it was an appropriate decision that we introduced to our own currency so that. we can side with foreign exchange operations and that that has been the desire of this government so we are not necessarily trying to eliminate remember we have been in this dilemma as they should be viewed for some time before. they did

when there was shortages when there were issues a lot of issues which would put outside the control independent of the. authorities because of that it was important that we introduce our currency in our currency which is ok supposed to operate. with the u.s. dollar just briefly foreign minister i'd like to ask you because you mentioned in the beginning of our conversation that one of one of the ills that is affecting your economy is sanctions we've actually had your president saying that their impact on our daily lives is a measurable that the consequences are dire but are they really because. or is there just your government just continuing to perpetuate a false narrative here as a convenient scapegoat the united states for example says they only have 141

individuals or com port companies singled out in your country right now in a country of 16000000. not to do all sarah do all government of sanctions to this country has caused the serious and unintended consequences i have always called it a weapon of mass destruction because this is a dead out which exists now is. a study instrument or act on zimbabwe specifically that it shall not access in external support from either the i.m.f. world bank or other international financial institutions and the because of that its means that the risk of. perceived risk of this country whenever the is that hitting us but of a sanction means it is higher it to deter investors would lend to come into this

country despite the fed that is a mole was open for business which is not propagated by president muscle not governor and therefore we believe that these sanctions are now irrelevant it is far as the situation is above its content but there are causing untold sufferings not probably to the if you live but particularly to the. must population of the people and that's what is written here today to lead by the european union not the united states however i would just like to ask you because you're continuing with that with this narrative and by blaming the west for your country's problems aren't you actually shooting yourself in the foot i mean you mentioned that you need foreign capital because the truth is you need very engaged in order to improve your economy which is saddled with billions of dollars in debt at the advent of the 7 the public president clearly articulated us foreign policy

objectives and that was a reengagement engagement basically you are see we must. be a friend to everyone and that we must be and they need to know one and that zimbabwe was open for business and all. of that process was to ensure that we are members of the family of nations who can and who can. allow the companies particularly from the west to come in and invest in zimbabwe and the west is encouraging and that is developed and our drive to ensure that company is from the u.s. from the european union from all of these countries from germany should come into the bubble so that they can be able to invest and opportunities that have been say that zimbabwe is probably presenting. do

best events with but you need to promote investment what jim does for the movers in the international community whatever now that is. that investment for many international partners one of the precursors for that is the fact that many want you to tackle corruption in your country on july 11th president and he once again he declared war on corruption as he did in 2017 post his takeover speech and in his inaugural speech after the 28000 election so i would like to ask you why should zimbabweans and the international community believe that these are more than just shallow phrases i mean they're phrases that have been around for a while these are not just phrases the president do when he. particularly made his detriment when the undercutting day was clear and in terms

of direction in which we're talking of corruption and a quarter of is something which we are at to mourn and not just something which is the radical and you're aware that already. 2 cabinet ministers have been reined. in not already. live there but how is it not their radical mr foreign minister when you've had when you've had more than 2 years in office and several of us have been made that there have been no convictions to date no convictions to date and even the president acknowledges that there is a so-called catch and release system in place yes but remember we have what separation of powers between the digs and the devolved selves and the judiciary and therefore when people have been arrested and will be charged and everything it is then that is the responsibility of the judiciary to handle the cases particularly

the prosecution side so that if they do this with the cases. they are being given the court dates and did they have been appearing in court a moment and do we believe that we. should and the not theorising of the whole process is when many people believe in fact it is the 1st time that she has been handled head on in this country than ever before ok so let's look at a very high profile case a concrete case on corruption and that is the case of coulda tog theory he is the boss of such a holdings it is said to have purchased buses from a chinese company and then resold them to the government at twice the price it's costing your citizens a lot of money he apparently made a $54000000.00 profit here tell us. is this an example of the type of business practice that needs to be investigated because there's talk that he got

this contract without a proper process of procurement i think that is a misinformed position is far as we're concerned and if there's been any. such kind of complaint it should have been reported to buddhism and the corruption commission but that is what has been reported by the end the rubbish information your former youth leaders in fact reported it to your anti corruption commission the i.m.f. reportedly also privately warned zimbabwe that the state payouts were quote undermining trust in the economy you are pushing it and your programs are behaving fears if you have the highest levels of government why not just investigate. earth . because he's politically connected. not at all in fact if you are talking about the issue of buses those buses.

a way of bought from. what is the this of of and it was a deal of the bus company here in zimbabwe not even. out of china direct but through the agent we had supplied buses be full into this country and with their will is it is to contract and these buses were bought when ordered and ordered and the delivered that our transport system is efficient more so under the cover it's 90. 6 no there because like there won't be any variation there so everything's above them. so mr foreign minister then let me. let me ask you about another case where everything does not appear to be above board we also have to mention this high profile case which is currently ongoing that your health minister who would fire this month for inappropriate conduct after he was accused of illegally awarding a multi-million dollar contract for covert $1000.00 medical supplies and just to

give a reference point these masks were apparently costing the government $28.00 per mask there's been public uproar over this he's facing 15 years in prison if convicted will your citizens see real consequences well that is exactly the testimony all for how the and the corruption drive in this country is because he has been arrested and he has been charged and therefore it means the people and what at least. in the normal is not being caught and released remember this just in this country he's going to appear in court and of the of of it is going to be presented and then it to be up to the judicial. to convict him or not but that's does not is not the responsibility of of of this sort of. ok mr foreign minister i'd like to turn to another issue now

and that is the issue of human rights particularly the issue of freedom of assembly has been criticized in your country the president has said that everyone in zimbabwe has the right to express themselves freely to criticize to protest but i just like to bring in one example because these are the protests back in early 2019 security forces responded reportedly with lethal force killing at least 17 people raping at least 17 women shooting and injuring 81 people or arresting over 1000 suspected protesters during door to door raids that doesn't sound like an ideal condition for people to express themselves freely or does it to you. well let me assure you. and all the viewers that this government and the constitution of this country clearly article is all the right threats all through the. freedom

of expression freedom of religion and so on and besides that there's been a lot of emphasis in terms of. embedding these rights among the people but there is no freedom in the constitution or in demonstrations or protest there is no freedom. of. bending people's cars and of the like that but it must be this which respects other people's rights as well let's talk about other people's rights interfering and also just to acknowledge the violence in this case was against the protesters they were the ones who experienced the fatalities but let's talk about the rights of others and turn to another case. a crackdown on dissent and this happened in may when 3 female opposition activists were on their way to participate in a peaceful protest organized by the opposition they were reportedly stopped at

a police checkpoint in harare subsequently abducted by state agents tortured sexually assaulted a very high profile case in your country is this what opposition leaders can expect in your country they've subsequently been arrested themselves they haven't even received an investigation into what happened to them. said it must you must be very careful when you are mad at these sessions because in the 1st place we weigh in because that period and because of the cause of it you cannot have the most sions of or symbol for about 50 people in town now if you breach but the law in that regard and you then cause a danger to the rest of the population in terms of the instructions it is you are fitting other people's rights to life which is not in up it which is not appropriate and the other 2nd issue is that you believe at the moment

that agencies ducted those women but this is a must which is under investigation and this if i'm going to start because i have truly been produced as actually been produced by the minister of the month is which is clearly that this could be leading to one of those issues which is the money to while. the nation are already done event ok but you didn't i didn't notice holland for their release it's also not my assessment it's my assess the assessment of the u.n. but i'd just like to ask you generally speaking because international n.g.o.s they describe a lack of political will when it comes to instituting reforms in your country i just like to quote human rights watch it says the following zimbabwe's failure to decisively deal with cases of abductions disappearances and torture severely undermines the standing of the country within the international community the

country needs to end impunity is symbolic way is to be respected failure to do so undermines the country's reengagement efforts with the international community how can you possibly convince the international community that zimbabwe's open for business when these assessments are so damning. pretty sure that but you must understand exactly where these are being provocative from and aware that they coming from mainly the opposition in this country has got this strategy of attracting attention by stage managing events which we should add up to the international community. as eyes and content and in the reality when there's not been any of such an abduction the example is the mughal day the doctor and even the current lead is something which is under investigation which i don't want to do continually really delving in in it but i can assure you of that we

have made reforms and this is the reforms that had to be in place you are aware that the the west has been very concerned about the pasta and that process has been repealed the west has been concerned about a plan and that has been repealed and there is progress in the forms and we are saying that this is the reforms in this suddenly being undertaken for the for the sake of. the international community or the western capitals but they're also being done for the benefit of all on people so that they should benefit our own people and that this government the 2nd the public zimbabwean foreign minister genuinely pursuing zimbabwean foreign minister says he is a lawyer we have to leave it there thank you for joining us on conflicts on. thank

you. thanks.

quentin falzon covert 1000 related deaths in both people. how did it come to. paris. many others want justice.

for. 30 minutes on d w. a meal time to talk about the 2nd season of omega since. the planet on the brink of disaster we just dumped in are experts about one question how will it change up pick up a morning edition. i'm not laughing at them just sometimes i am but i'm standing up in winter the research i'm in thinks deep into german culture looking at the stereotype of quacks but in his thinking speech or the country that i'm playing. piano lead it seems ridiculous drama day out to you because it's all about a new i might show join me to meet the gentleman from d.w.

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millions can live. blame. blame blame blame blame blame blame blame blame. this is d. w. news to live from berlin at allegations of russian cyber espionage involving covert 19 of vaccine research the u.s. u.k. and canada accuse moscow tacker of targeting labs working on preventing the spread of corona virus to russia denies any involvement also coming up a turkish court sentences german churches journalist and dentist you're jealous of

almost 3 years in prison for spreading what he calls terrorist propaganda the verdict is expected to strain relations between ankara and for lent.