Chronicle Editor
THE fight against illegal Western sanctions against our country is as old as the measures.
Zimbabweans have denounced the punitive measures since the day of their imposition, and continue to demand that they be immediately lifted unconditionally because they were imposed without UN approval, they harm the country and its people as well as southern Africa at large. They are meant to force illegal regime change in the country, to make the “economy scream,” as former US assistant secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker said at the turn of the millennium.
Sadc, Africa, China, Russia and the Global South have been on the side of Zimbabwe. In 2019, Sadc concretised its support for Zimbabwe in the fight against the illegal measures by designating October 25 of every year as Sadc Anti-Sanctions Solidarity Day.
Thus, on Wednesday, the campaign reaches its annual climax when President Mnangagwa delivers a speech denouncing the measures, enunciating their adverse impact and demanding their unconditional and immediate removal. He, too, will highlight what the Government is doing to defeat them.
Sadc chairperson and Angolan President João Lourenço, and individual countries from the region are also expected to issue statements to mark the day in solidarity with Zimbabwe.
Civil servants and learners across the country will march in commemoration of the day.
The Government is set to host a two-day Sadc Anti-Sanctions Solidarity Summit in Mutoko, Mashonaland East headlined by a media indaba and business expo. A musical gala is also expected to be held in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central in commemoration of the day.
This year’s theme is “Harnessing the youth for accelerated socio-economic development in the fight against sanctions.”
The US started it all when it sanctioned our country in 2001 with the European Union following suit the following year. A study commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade estimates that the economy had, by 2019, lost more than US$42 billion since the sanctions were imposed.
The sum is one of many factors highlighting how ruinous the embargo has been to the economy. In addition to their impact in dollars and cents, there are livelihoods that have been lost, jobs that have been lost, their social impact and the lives which may have been lost as the economy struggled at some point to provide health care services amid the sanctions.
The damage has, indeed, been full-spectrum.
We find this year’s theme very apt because the youth must always be brought on board when matters of national interest are tackled. They must be made to understand why the illegal measures were imposed, who among us campaigned, and still does, for the sanctions, how impactful they have been and what the Government is doing to defeat them. They, too must be brought on board to denounce the measures and demand their unconditional removal.
While we reiterate our strong opposition to the sanctions, we are encouraged by the bold measures that the Second Republic is implementing to get around them instead of just feeling sorry about ourselves. Due to the policies and programmes, the economy is actually growing, in some cases, much faster than economies that aren’t under sanctions.
We look forward to Wednesday and encourage our people, Sadc and the progressive world to send a strong message to the US, European Union and Britain to immediately and unconditionally remove their damaging and illegal sanctions.
Online Reporter