Zimbabwe cuts ties with costly Western PR firms

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ZIMBABWE has terminated the services of consultancy firms which were engaged more than three years ago to help thaw diplomatic relations with the United States as Harare changes tack to break over two decades of international isolation.

In 2019, the then Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo hired four lobbyists – BTP Advisers, Mercury International Limited, Ballard Partners and Avenue Strategies – paying them millions of dollars, in a desperate bid to spruce up its battered global image and bolster the diplomatic re-engagement drive that had fallen off the rails.

But the move yielded little as Washington demanded more political governance reforms such as upholding the rule of law, respecting property rights and an overhaul on electoral laws. The Zanu-PF government has for years been intransigent on the reform agenda, saying Washington is pushing for a change in administration.