Vusumuzi Dube
Address by President Mnangagwa at the occasion of the SADC Anti-Sanctions Day, October 25, 2022
Compatriots and citizens of SADC, Africa and the progressive world, on this 25th Day of October, and on behalf of the people, and Government of Zimbabwe, our party ZANU PF, and on my own behalf, I express profound gratitude to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and to other progressive forces, for the support and unwavering solidarity we continue to receive as we struggle against the illegal sanctions imposed on us by some Western countries.
This is a day SADC designated yearly to express its opposition to and outrage against illegal Western sanctions against Zimbabwe, until they are removed.
We, the people of Zimbabwe, feel humbled by the solidarity demonstrated by both SADC and the AU, as well as by many progressive forces and organisations, who at the recent 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in unison called for the immediate and unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions.
In addition, the endorsement of findings and recommendations contained in the Final Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, Ms Alena Douhan, is a welcome development.
It is the people of Zimbabwe’s trust and fervent hope that the recommendations of the Report will help persuade the West to immediately and unconditionally lift the illegal sanctions which Zimbabwe does not deserve at all.
The sanctions regime undermines tenets of the “human factor approach” of nations in pursuit of sustainable socio-economic development. They are an attack on the freedoms and on the sovereignty of Zimbabwe.
Today, we unite with the SADC region, Africa, and the progressive world to condemn the long-standing injustice meted out against the people of Zimbabwe by a few Western nations acting unilaterally and outside the UN Charter.
We call, press and reiterate that these illegal Sanctions Must Go. The people and Government of Zimbabwe deserve a chance.
We are not and will never yield to the sanctions conditioning and strangulating effect. We will never give up on sacred ideals and goals of our protracted armed liberation struggle.
We will not abandon the path we have chosen for ourselves as a sovereign people to develop, modernise and industrialise our great motherland, Zimbabwe, using our own capabilities, resources and international goodwill.
Fellow Zimbabweans, ladies and gentlemen; The theme of this year’s SADC’s Anti-Sanctions Day, “Enhancing Zimbabwe’s Resilience through Economic Development, Engagement and Re-engagement” is most fitting and inspiring. It exhorts us all to continue building our resilience, adaptive capacities and strategies in the fight against these coercive measures.
Be that as it may, these sanctions cannot sanction our minds, our original thinking, our skill sets, our energies and, most importantly, our God-given land as well as our natural endowments.
We must therefore fully utilise all our creativity and endowments to insulate our economy from these sanctions, and to implement with great vigour our local development prescriptions, programmes and projects to improve the quality of life of our people. We have a duty to lift our people out of poverty to prosperity. It is only through self-generated development, determination, focus, perseverance and resilience, across all the ten provinces of our country, that we shall conquer the illegal sanctions.
Going forward, I challenge fellow citizens: young and old, from the Zambezi to the Limpopo and from Plumtree to Mutare, to remain alive to the fact that it is our collective responsibility to build a prosperous Zimbabwe we all want, brick by brick, stone upon stone. Our development mantra: ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo’ is instructive and should guide and inspire us. There is no looking back, no retreat or surrender.
Fellow Zimbabweans; The cumulative negative impact of sanctions for the more than two decades our country has been under them, is immense and far-reaching. In the financial sector, Zimbabwe has suffered the suspension of balance of payments support, cessation of development cooperation, thus rendering us ineligible to financial support from global financial institutions. Commercial loans are offered at exorbitantly high risk-related premiums, while obstacles are put on our commercial banks so they are not free to correspond and to transact internationally.
Furthermore, the rhetoric against Zimbabwe impacts negatively on our national brand, and on flows of trade, investment and tourism.
These unfortunate developments severely undermine the performance of all sectors of our economy. As a consequence, the lives and livelihoods of the Zimbabwean people have been negatively impacted.
In spite of the illegal sanctions, the Second Republic continues to make progress in our quest to realise targets set out in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), the African Union Agenda 2063, and on Sustainable Development Goals. We are determined to deliver on these national notwithstanding. and global goals, sanctions.
In the agriculture sector, we continue to make strides towards building US$8,2 billion Agricultural Economy by 2025. This is a result of hard work, and of cultivating a culture of production and productivity, through the religious implementation of the Agriculture Food Systems and Transformation Strategy. We have also added programmes and initiatives on rural industrialisation.
The mining sector is on track to achieving a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023. Critical projects are being implemented across this sector, in partnership with both local capital and global investors drawn from friendly countries.
Government’s Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan will deploy technological innovations and digital transformation in our quest for holistic development, and to modernise our national infrastructure.
This includes the expansion and upgrading of our energy infrastructure, major highways, feeder roads, airports and all ports of entry; the construction of dams as well as building of smart cities.
Under the Devolution and Decentralisation Agenda, we are giving power to, and facilitating decision making by local communities. This has seen life-transforming milestones in social sectors, in water and sanitation, as well as in the infrastructure space across our rural areas. Through devolution policy, we are transforming the countryside, and changing livelihoods of our historically disadvantaged communities.
Fellow Zimbabweans;
Our economic turnaround efforts would have been faster and less painful, had it not been for the hurdles placed in our way by the illegal sanctions. Despite the hardships, prospects of attaining Vision 2030 remain bright and within reach. Let us therefore, remain resolute in our individual and collective efforts to re-build and grow our great motherland, Zimbabwe.
Guided by our Engagement and Re-engagement policy, Zimbabwe remains determined to be a peaceful and effective participant in the comity of nations. Since the last SADC Anti-sanctions Day, my Administration remains determined as ever to promote the stance that ‘Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none’.
It is therefore critical to note that, the structured political dialogue with the European Union, which has been going on since 2019, is enhancing greater understanding on issues of mutual interest. The progress recorded to date, strengthens my Administration to keep focused on re-engagement.
Meanwhile, the people and Government of Zimbabwe welcome the invitation to participate at the Africa-US Summit which will be held in Washington D.C. in December 2022. Zimbabwe will use the meeting to re engage the United States of America. We hope the USA will be forthcoming.
I commend investors, including our local citizens and those in the diaspora for taking advantage of the vast investment opportunities which Zimbabwe offers. I want to assure those nursing doubts planted by false narratives against our country that Zimbabwe is open for business and a safe destination for capital.
My Administration will continue to strengthen the reform agenda, by addressing all impediments which constrain economic growth, business confidence and investment. Equally, we stand ready to facilitate and welcome investors into the various sectors of our economy. We do all these reforms for our people and for our country.
In conclusion, I want to thank all the citizens of our beloved motherland Zimbabwe, for showing tremendous resilience and perseverance in the face of the illegal sanctions.
Our enduring national character has seen us overcoming greater challenges we have faced in the past as a people and nation. That same character will propel us forward, now and forever.
Once again, thank you SADC; thank you the African Union; thank you various progressive peoples, nations and organisations. You have stood by us always, including on this day as we speak again against the illegal sanctions. We the people of Zimbabwe are truly grateful.
I reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. They must go, and go now!
God bless you all!
God bless Zimbabwe!
God Bless SADC and Africa!
I thank you.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter