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The recently concluded harmonised elections have exposed Britain, US and their allies who are now finding it difficult to justify the continued imposition of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe. The dishonest Western countries continue to shift goal posts in their attempt to continue with the illegal embargo that is hurting the ordinary people.
The Western countries said before the harmonised elections that they were going to be guided by the Sadc and the African Union but after the two organisations endorsed the elections as free, fair and credible, the countries changed the goalposts. What is clear is that the western countries’ preferred party, MDC-T, lost the elections and now they cannot swallow their pride and lift the sanctions which in the first place have always been illegal.
Now that the Anglo-Saxon world has failed to live up to its promise, Zimbabwe should forget about the West and forge ahead with development. Zimbabweans have endured the adverse effects of the illegal sanctions for about 15 years now and instead of mourning the decision by the western countries to continue with the sanctions we must organise. What is comforting is that the country is endowed with natural resources, some of which are yet to be exploited.
The country has a wide range of minerals and continues to discover new deposits. The minerals of the moment, platinum and diamonds, are in abundance and the same countries that have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe are now divided as some of the European Union countries want the sanctions lifted so that they can also benefit from the country’s minerals. The country also boasts of game, timber and methane gas which is yet to be exploited.
Many of the Western countries have run out of raw materials for their industries and are looking to Africa for these resources but surprisingly the same countries that are poor when it comes to resources want to dictate terms to countries like Zimbabwe. What is important now is for the Government and people of Zimbabwe to take advantage of the abundant natural resources to accelerate the country’s development.
This is only possible if all Zimbabweans have a shared vision regarding the future of this country. The people said it loud and clear that as Zimbabweans they will not brook any interference in the internal affairs of their country when they voted resoundingly for Zanu-PF which the Western countries wanted removed at all costs. The western countries had poured in lot of resources to effect a regime change but much to their chagrin, Zanu-PF won a two thirds majority in Parliament. The challenge to the new Government Ministers is to turn around the economy and prove that the western countries do not hold keys to development.
It is a fact that it will not be long before the same western countries come begging us to assist with the raw materials for their industries. What is critical is for us to ensure that where possible we do not export raw materials but semi-finished or finished products. The country should therefore prioritise value addition as opposed to shipping out raw materials which have limited returns.
The revival of the manufacturing industries should therefore take centre stage so that the bulk of our exports are finished goods. We cannot continue to mourn the arrogance of western countries as doing so will detract us from the real challenges at hand. The Government should see to it that the people’s welfare has been improved and this is only possible if most of the people are gainfully employed and earning living wages.
There is a need to put in place robust measures to support agriculture which is the backbone of our economy. The obtaining scenario whereby most goods being sold in the shops are imported is not acceptable. We want to once again call on the leadership in this country not to pay too much attention to the confused western countries’ vacillation and concentrate on the challenges of turning around the economy.
Online Reporter