SANCTIONS illegally imposed on Zimbabwe by the West will yet again be on the agenda when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa meets the newly appointed British Prime Minister Mr Rishi Sunak and the newly crowned King Charles III during a state visit to the United Kingdom this week.
President Ramaphosa’s special adviser on international relations, Ms Maropene Ramokgopa, told the South African media that the issue of illegal economic sanctions, that were imposed on Zimbabwe by some Western countries as punishment for the land reform programme, will be on the table for discussion.
“They (sanctions) are affecting SA in a very difficult way. The reason there is a lot of migration from Zimbabwe is because people are running away from economic hardships. It’s not because they want to leave home, and the sanctions are not assisting in any way. So we’d like them to look at it differently,” she said.
This comes as the SADC region, Africa and the progressive world have been unanimous in their calls for the unconditional removal of economic sanctions, which experts say have cost Zimbabwe more than US$100 billion, and decimated critical sectors such as health, education, and also the private sector. Sanctions, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the effects of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Zimbabwe by the West, Professor Alena Douhan, have led to rising unemployment, especially among the most qualified professionals, including engineers, doctors, teachers, university professors, judges and police officers.
The sanctions have also prevented the Government from using resources to develop and maintain essential infrastructure, disaster response plans and social support programmes, which has a devastating effect on the whole population of Zimbabwe, especially those in extreme poverty, women, young people, children, medical workers and people with disabilities or life-threatening or chronic diseases, particularly in rural areas.
Since coming to power, President Mnangagwa has opened the country’s diplomatic doors wide open through his Engagement and Re-engagement policy, which encapsulates that Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none.
Consequently, new diplomatic chapters have been opened with the European Union in particular, to which the United Kingdom has since exited, embracing Zimbabwe’s reform agenda.
That Mr Ramaphosa, who along with other SADC leaders has a comprehensive appreciation of the devastating effects of the illegal sanctions, is best positioned to articulate to the UK new leadership the negative impact of the embargoes, analysts said yesterday.
Dr Tawanda Zinyama, an academic from the University of Zimbabwe, said the UK is under pressure to move with the times and remove the illegal economic sanctions but its position is made invidious by its ties with the country’s opposition.
“The bottom line is that Africa has taken a very clear position that the unilateral economic sanctions should be removed unconditionally, this is because the sanctions are affecting the ordinary person, everyone, including those in the opposition, is aware of this but they want them to stay for the sake of getting power.
“However, what has to be noted is that for the greater part of 2022, the United Kingdom Parliament has been having Zimbabwe on the agenda usually with the message that the 2023 elections will not be free and fair. They also made reference to the diaspora vote,what is clear is that there are aware that sanctions have to be lifted but they would rather have their preferred party in power first. Thus the UK is in a catch 22 because many countries (including EU member states) are grabbing opportunities in Zimbabwe but because they would rather deal with CCC, they are being left behind. On the whole, the region is aware that sanctions are affecting ordinary people, even South Africa is feeling the impact of the sanctions because the country stands to benefit more from a sanctions free Zimbabwe,” he said.
For the ruling party Zanu PF, the meeting between Mr Ramaphosa and King Charles 111 is laden with historical significance and symbolism as the new British monarch is the one who lowered the British flag in 1980, signifying the end of colonial rule in Zimbabwe.
The party’s Director for Information and Publicity, Mr Tafadzwa Mugwadi, noted that South Africa “is a strategic regional power and using its stamina to press the West to remove sanctions is a giant step in amplifying the SADC and AU resolution calling for the unconditional removal of those sanctions which by all standards have no place in a civilised world”.
“It is our hope and the hope of the people of Zimbabwe that King Charles, who himself lowered the British Union Jack flag heralding the end of colonial rule and Zimbabwe’s Independence, will understand that Zimbabwe is an enemy to none and a friend to all. The Second Republic has shown total capacity in terms of development and the removal of sanctions will allow Zimbabwe to double its efforts in economic growth and development,” said Cde Mugwadi.
So debilitating have been the sanctions packaged misleadingly as the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, that multilateral financing from institutions such as the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank has ceased—with dire ripple effects on the lives and livelihoods of Zimbabweans. – The Herald
