Chinamasa claims to have been detained at Heathrow Airport in London

THE Zimbabwe Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has claimed that Zimbabwe was still under British sanctions, saying he was detained at the airport on his way to the London conference.

Chinamasa said this on Tuesday during at a conference in London. He was responding to a question if Harare had abandoned its violence as a way to assure investors that Zimbabwe was indeed "open for business" as he has been claiming of late.

He said: "For as long as there are sanctions we cannot move forward. As it is, I can't come to the UK and not face problems. I come and I am detained; I was detained at the airport. I was taken aback because I thought the sanctions had been lifted; those little things really matter and let's sort that out."

He said President Robert Mugabe's continued rants against the west were not a sign of policy inconsistences on Harare's part but were "reflective of the political differences".

Chinamasa, however, said he was on Tuesday going to attend a meeting with top British government officials to see "how to mend fences with the UK."

He said despite "fence sitting" by the British investors, some strategic UK institutions and business people have previously supported calls for Zimbabwe to be supported.

"In Lima, some British people agreed that Zimbabwe should be supported as well as in Zambia. That was a good sign. That's why we are here for this conference and to meet government people."

Titled "Zimbabwe 2016: Rebooting and Rebuilding", the one day conference held in central London is being organised by Africa Confidential.