In an exclusive interview
with ZBC News on the sidelines of the ongoing 39th SADC Summit in Tanzania
President Mnangagwa said he is pleased with the fruitful discussions at the
summit regarding issues affecting the trading bloc.
"I'm happy that this
time around SADC was unanimous on the need for economic sanctions imposed on
Zimbabwe to be removed. The SADC Secretariat has been mandated to communicate
the message to Africa Union which will communicate to the United Nations. The
discussions were emphatic as the basis for sanctions are no-longer there anymore
and they were illegal after all," he said.
So, SADC leaders discussions
were emphatic on the removal of sanctions “as the basis for sanctions are no-longer
there anymore”. Really? I take it SADC leaders understood that failing to hold
free, fair and credible elections was one of those reasons. Then these SADC
leaders must also know that none of the western nations judged Zimbabwe’s last
year elections free, fair and credible. And so, the sanctions will stay.
Zimbabwe’s economy is in
total meltdown because of 39 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption
and lawlessness. In 2015, former President Mugabe admitted Zimbabwe was “swindled”
out of US$15 billion in diamond revenue alone. When he booted out of office in
the November 2017 military coup, he still had not arrested even one swindler or
recovered one dollar of the looted wealth. President Mnangagwa promised “zero
tolerance on corruption” but he too has yet to arrest one diamond swindler.
Corruption is the main
cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown by a long mile compared to any damage
caused by sanctions.
President Mnangagwa
blatantly rigged last year’s elections and the nation is building a head of
steam to pressure the regime to step down because only then can the nation
appoint a competent interim administration tasked to implement the democratic
reforms and end the curse of rigged elections. The sanctions are just one more
way of piling up the pressure on the regime. The sanctions will remain!
Zimbabwe has become the embodiment of a failed state with disastrous consequence to her own people and the whole Southern African region and beyond. It is a great pity that both SADC and AU have cheered and applauded Mugabe and the Zanu PF dictatorship for decades as the regime ride roughshod over the people's freedoms, human rights and dreams.
ReplyDeleteOnly once in the last 39 years did SADC and AU leaders ever stopped to think, in 2008 when they refused to endorse Zanu PF's blatant cheating and wanton violence to win the elections. SADC forced Zanu PF to agree to the implementation of democratic reforms but not even one reform saw the light of day largely because the MDC was corrupt and incompetent.
Ever since the failed 2008 GNU, SADC and AU have gone back to their default setting of blindly supporting the Zanu PF dictatorship. It is a great shame that even now with Zimbabwe tittering on the edge of the precipice SADC and AU leaders still refuse to open their eyes and see Zanu PF dictatorship for the evil regime it is. Shame on these idiots!
Zanu PF rigged last year's elections and we need every available pressure point push to force the regime to step down. Sanctions are one such pressure point and they must stay! We should not allow ourselves to be distracted by idiots who have shamefully closed their eyes to reality and history!