Sanctions: Africa has spoken

Established 1893

AT a time when Zimbabwe’s development is being stifled by the sanctions albatross that is around its neck, it is becoming increasingly clear for the people of Africa that the suffering of any member State derails the progress of the entire content.

Zimbabwe does not exist in a vacuum and therefore her economy is connected to other countries’ economies in one way or the other.

When Zimbabwe’s economy sneezes, the entire African economy catches a cold.

It is for this reason that Africa simply cannot afford to look the other way as Zimbabwe struggles to pull her weight under the burden of the economic sanctions imposed on the country decades ago by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Africa cannot sit back and watch as Zimbabwe is punished for repossessing her own land through the land reform programme which saw Government redistributing land from minority white farmers to landless Zimbabweans.

Since 2002, Zimbabwe has lost access to billions of dollars in bilateral financial support, grants and loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Tens of thousands have lost their jobs as several companies have closed as a result of the sanctions’ sting.

While the EU has maintained that the restrictions have no impact on the country’s economy as they are ‘targeted’, the sanctions have in fact caused misery and economic suffering to millions of Zimbabwe as they are affecting plenty of parastatals and private companies.

It is encouraging to note that African Heads of States are in agreement that the sanctions have to go as soon as yesterday.

They are speaking with one voice and have thrown their full weight behind Zimbabwe.

At the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, calls for the removal of the punitive measures got louder as several Heads of States took to the podium to drive the point home.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa highlighted the findings of the UN special rapporteur, Professor Alena Douhan, and called for the removal of the unjustified sanctions.

In her recent report, Prof Douhan highlighted how the sanctions are affecting the ordinary people of Zimbabwe and called on the US and other Western governments to lift the sanctions they imposed on Zimbabwe.

African Union’s chairman, Senegalese President MackySall did not mince his words as he spoke against fuelling injustice against the people of Zimbabwe through the harsh measures.

SADC chairperson and DRC President, Felix Tshisekedi also said the sanctions are a crime against innocent people and said they should be lifted immediately.

More African leaders, including President Mokwgweetsi Masisi (Botswana), President William Ruto (Kenya), President Hage Geingob (Namibia), President Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and President Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), have also vehemently called for the removal of the economic embargoes.

The upcoming Anti-Sanctions Day, which is commemorated on October 25th, is therefore a great opportunity for the SADC region as a whole and the rest of African to pile pressure on the West to unconditionally remove the illegal sanctions.

There is strength in numbers. With more people adding their voice to the anti-sanctions call, the West will eventually take heed and do the honourable thing of lifting the sanctions imposed on our beautiful country.