The Sunday Mail
AS October 25 beckons, Zimbabwe and the rest of the progressive anti-colonial world are demanding the unconditional and uncontested removal of the illegal sanctions imposed by the imperialist West.
National Focus
Dr Jenfan Muswere
The SADC Anti-Sanctions Day has its genesis in the communiqué of the 39th SADC Summit. At the persuasion of the late President of Tanzania John Pombe Magufuli, our regional bloc declared October 25, 2019 an anti-sanctions solidarity day. In so doing, the SADC evoked its founding regional solidarity thrust. The day reaffirms Zimbabwe’s commitment to the cardinal principles of regional multilateralism and its unflinching bona fide status. This explains why our country will be host of the next SADC Assembly.
The SADC October 25 declaration was a seminal Afrocentric outgrowth of His Excellency President Mnangagwa’s engagement and re-engagement policy. At the time, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFcFTA) had been motioned to existence.
Not only was the declaration of October 25 tied down to the ideological imperatives of the region, but its pragmatic merit is premised on the fact that Zimbabwe’s geospatial advantage makes it a strategic trade corridor for the region. Such is the magnitude of the importance Zimbabwe carries in the SADC. It was on this basis that SADC’s Secretariat advocated the anti-sanctions agenda to be tabled for discussion during the 74th UN General Assembly held in September 2019.
In geopolitical terms, this unprecedented move by SADC repositioned Africa to collectively speak out against the asymmetrical order of the international arena. Therefore, when Zimbabweans take it to the streets to condemn the economic haemorrhaging effects of sanctions on the 25th, the world will and must be reminded that our sovereign dignity must be upheld within the community of nations.
SADC’s anti-sanctions’ affirmative position, to be commemorated on the 25th, registers the extent to which the region abhors the dehumanising effects of the illegal sanctions and the unbearable living conditions they have created for our people.
The October 25 SADC oath commands the imperialist conscience to rethink its anti-land reform and vengeful regime change politics. In the same vein, those who are patriotic among ourselves should be able to use all media platforms to condemn sanctions and the menace they have imposed on our economy.
During the transitional stint of his Presidency in 2017, President Mnangagwa declared that “Zimbabwe is Open for Business”, thereby asserting how much our nation was made open for international capital. The engagement and re-engagement agenda has also demonstrated how much the President’s vision is connected to globalism.
The dualisation of road networks, rehabilitation of all ports of entry point to his avid trade diplomatic acumen. All these policies have de-isolated Zimbabwe from the community of nations.
The Zimbabwe Economic and Democracy Recovery Act (ZDERA) ceased to be a Zimbabwean targeted cantankerous piece of legislation when SADC made its open and collective disregard of its terms in 2019.
ZDERA’s colonial nostalgic imposing dictates to our national sovereignty stands condemned. Its decimation intentions to our education, sport, tourism, health, industry and other sectors must be made known to all. This unlawful American law’s false claims of Zimbabwe’s human rights crisis, good governance poverty and democracy deficits embarrassingly stands challenged by the reforms the Second Republic has invested in various structures of statecraft.
A gamut of constitutional commissions are in place to protect various human liberties; fight corruption; govern elections; promote fair labour relations; and accelerate national peace and reconciliation.
With a wide range of policy reforms in our politics and socio-economic stratum, the makers of the illegal sanctions misrepresented the reason for their imposition. It is increasingly apparent that Zimbabwe is being merely punished for the land reform. Beyond that, the illegal sanctions are the backbone of the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe. This explains the excesses of propaganda funding to discredit our electoral processes.
It is worth stating that our President has made it crystal clear that land reform remains irreversible. Its dividends are there for all to see. Apart from the justified polemic emotional sentiment of the anti-sanctions spirit, it must also be remembered that the Second Republic has recorded various milestones spanning from infrastructure development, information and communication technology acceleration, massive fiscal consolidation, high agricultural yields and exponential growth in the mining sector. The illegal sanctions have strengthened our resolve to build our economy.
To demonstrate this multi-sectoral success of our Government and private sector in improving the livelihoods of our people, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services will host the SADC Anti-Sanctions Summit in Mutoko, Mashonaland East.
This Mutoko Anti-Sanctions Expo will highlight the Government’s resilience to sanctions and Zimbabwe’s economic growth in the face of a two-decade imperialist assault of our people’s dignity. In the same vein, the ministry will host an anti-sanctions musical gala in Dotito, Mashonaland Central. These two anti-sanctions messaging platforms are being hosted outside Harare are, in line with the Second Republic’s national events devolution approach.
However, within the parameters of anti-sanctions discourse, such an approach is imperative in ensuring that every voice is heard as the call for the unconditional removal of sanctions persists.
No corner of our country has not been affected by the sanctions, therefore, each province of our country must make its position clear that ZDERA is illegal and must fall!
Hon Dr Jenfan Muswere is the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
