PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has managed to turn around the adverse effects of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the European Union and the United States of America (USA) by introducing a raft of transformative economic initiatives that have spawned economic growth in various sectors of the economy, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said while the sanctions had been an albatross, the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa initiated the engagement and re-engagement policy and repositioned Zimbabwe’s diplomatic outlook for accelerated investment inflows into the country.
Dr Muswere said this yesterday while addressing journalists ahead of today’s Sadc initiated Anti-Sanctions Day which is commemorated every year since 2019 to amplify the voice against the illegal sanctions in the region.
“As you may be aware that tomorrow October 25 is a day set aside to tell the whole world about the illegal sanctions that were imposed by Western countries on Zimbabwe. My ministry, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, has been mandated to build the national image and this entails telling the story of how the illegal sanctions are impacting negatively on our economy and the livelihoods of our people,” said Dr Muswere.
“Sanctions have had a negative impact on our economy but thanks to President Mnangagwa who has introduced transformative economic initiatives that have positively impacted on all our economic sectors including mining, agriculture, manufacturing, medical, tourism and even technological developments, their impact has been minimal. Zimbabwe has been denied access to international lines of credit but thanks to our inward looking policies, the Government was able to entirely fund the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.”
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting services Dr Jenfan Muswere
He said President Mnangagwa introduced a cocktail of measures to contain and mitigate the effects of the illegal sanctions.
“In reversing the menacing impact of sanctions as a tool to undermine our national democracy and economic sovereignty, His Excellency President Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa initiated the engagement and re-engagement policy. In so doing, the President repositioned Zimbabwe’s diplomatic outlook for accelerated investment inflows into our country. Industrial growth has overtaken the stagnation that the economic sector had endured prior to the birth of the Second Republic,” said Dr Muswere.
“Therefore, I urge all media players to take advantage of Government’s initiative to free the airwaves so as to enable the public to freely call for the unconditional removal of sanctions. The media must be pro-active in exposing how the illegal sanctions are massively sabotaging our national interest.”
He said three major events will characterise today’s Anti-Sanctions Day commemorations.
“(There will be an) Anti-Sanctions March. We are inviting all Zimbabweans, all civil servants and all parastatals to join the Anti-Sanctions march in Harare tomorrow. Zimbabweans will assemble at Munhumutapa Building, between Simon Muzenda Street and Sam Nujoma Street, along Samora Machel Avenue. They will march along Samora Machel Avenue towards Julius Nyerere Way. From Julius Nyerere way they will turn into Nelson Mandela Avenue heading to Africa Unity Square,” said Dr Muswere.
“Zimbabweans will also gather in Mutoko at Gohori Resort where the second edition of the Sadc Anti-Sanctions solidarity summit will be held from 8am until the end of the day. A programme of action has been lined up and the guest of honour will be Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere. Anti-Sanctions gala; Zimbabweans will also gather in Dotito for an Anti-Sanctions gala which will see a cocktail of artistes entertaining the people in commemoration of the Anti-Sanctions Day. All Zimbabweans are therefore invited to join the rest of the nation in celebrating the Anti-Sanctions Day.”
He said this year’s commemorations are focussed on the appreciation of the youth.
“The resilience of the youth against sanctions. The focus is also on harnessing the youth in the fight against the illegal sanctions. The people of Zimbabwe and in particular the youth have a responsibility to defeat the illegal sanctions. For the Second Chimurenga, colonisation was defeated by the youth who fought against white minority oppressors. The youth should sharpen the national strategic thinking, harnessing all domestic and international resources including the intellectual capability to defeat the illegal sanctions,” Dr Muswere said.
This morning, President Mnangagwa is expected to attend a virtual Sadc Anti-Sanctions Summit.
The Anti-Sanctions Day was adopted by the 39th Sadc Summit that was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in August 2019 and designated October 25 of each year as the day of solidarity with Zimbabwe against the illegal sanctions imposed by some Western nations.
The Second Republic has set the country’s economy on the recovery path in a short space of time despite the fact that the country continues to be under the yoke of illegal sanctions.
The US and the EU imposed illegal sanctions as a knee jerk reaction after the Government embarked on a land reform programme around 2 000 meant to correct historical land imbalances that saw the minority whites owning vast tracts of arable land against the black majority who had been relegated to arid areas.
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