The United States has pointed out massive corruption within government ranks as the soure of Zimbabwe's economic woes, and not sanctions.

The U.S. embassy in Harare says the southern African country loses over 1 billion USD every year to corruption, and that the government should focus on eradicating the vice first rather than fight sanctions.

"Zimbabwe loses up to 1 billion USD per year due to corruption. Corruption deters foreign direct investment. U.S. companies decide where and when to invest based on a conducive and lucrative business environment," it added.

Hundreds of Zimbabweans on Friday took to the streets of the capital, Harare, to demand for the lifting of U.S. sanctions against the government.

The country has been under sanctions for years, plunging the country into prolonged economic troubles.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government is looking to have the sanctions lifted in order to attract more funds to the country.

The protesters on Friday carries placards saying "Sanctions must go now" and "Sanctions are a crime against humanity."

The U.S. embassy in Harare while responding to the protests blamed Zimbabwe's economic woes on massive corruption within the government ranks.

"Zimbabwe is ranked 160 out of 175 nations on the Transparency International list of corruption perceptions. 2.8 billion USD goes missing from command agricultural subsidies & there's no accountability. Not the way to build confidence in Zimbabwe & attract foreign business & investment," the embassy said on Twitter.

In a veiled response, President Mnangagwa said: "The news that Zimbabwe has gone up 15 places this year in the 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings puts us in the top 20 global reformers and is a testament to our reform agenda. We will not rest & will keep reforming until the benefits of these measures are felt by all Zimbabweans."

The sanctions that Zimbabwe is battling have been in place since the reign of former long-serving president Robert Mugabe.

Some of Mugabe's policies put his government at loggerheads with Western powers, resulting in the sanctions.

While President Mnangagwa embarked on a damage control initiative immediately after taking office in late 2017, his desired results have not been realized so far.

The European Union on the other hand said it "has not imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe. Our restrictive measures comprise of a travel ban and asset freeze against former Presidential couple, a ban for European companies to do business with Zimbabwe Defence Industries, and an arms embargo. That's all."

(Information obtained from US EMbassy – Harare, EU in Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa)