Zimbabwe president renews call for unconditional removal of Western sanctions
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Harare: Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Sunday renewed his call for the unconditional removal of Western sanctions on the country, saying the restrictions were holding back economic growth and regional development.
Speaking at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Anti-Sanctions Day, observed annually on October 25, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe continued to pursue its development goals despite the sanctions. He added that closer regional integration was essential for the country’s economic transformation.
The SADC Anti-Sanctions Day was instituted by the 16-member regional bloc in 2019 to press for the removal of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe after its land reform programme, under which land was redistributed from minority white farmers to indigenous black Zimbabweans.
“Sanctions not only punish our country, but the entire SADC family and infringe Zimbabwe’s role in advancing an integrated Africa,” Mnangagwa said, according to Xinhua News Agency.
He thanked SADC member states for backing Zimbabwe’s demand for the lifting of unilateral sanctions.
“This reflects our shared commitment to a just and fair global order, where the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference in the internal affairs and the sovereign right of every country to chart its own destiny are respected,” he said.
Mnangagwa urged greater cooperation within SADC and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, saying the regional groupings could improve connectivity and strengthen collaboration in trade, industry, agriculture, energy and infrastructure.
He said Zimbabwe would expand international partnerships and deepen regional integration to drive economic change, while pursuing diplomatic and domestic measures to have the sanctions lifted and improve industrial competitiveness.
The president also reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
The United States enacted the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act in December 2001, limiting its support for multilateral financial assistance to Zimbabwe.
In March 2024, then US President Joe Biden ended a sanctions programme that had been in place since 2003, but simultaneously imposed fresh sanctions on 11 individuals, including Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, citing alleged human rights abuses and corruption under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
(Inputs from IANS)