The ManicaPost
ECONOMIC sanctions refer to commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual, and these are accompanied by various forms of trade barriers, tariffs, and restrictions on financial transactions.
Zimbabwe has been under economic embargoes for almost two decades now – which have produced unintended and undesirable consequences – calling into question the morality and efficacy of such unilateral coercive measures.
The embargoes have hurt Zimbabwe’s economy, and plunged the common men and women in a pool of untold suffering.
The call for the lifting of sanctions is noble and indeed necessary, noting that they are illegal, unjust and vindictive in so far as they seek to condemn the Zimbabwe land reclamation programme and justify racially induced disproportionate distribution of national resources.
These economic sanctions must go because they kill in as indiscriminate a manner as a silent war that is even worse than an open war.
Zimbabwe’s economic hara-kiri has become so pronounced, and cannot be resuscitated without first dealing with economic sanctions.
For as long as the sanctions remain in place, the country will continue to struggle economically.
They must be removed first to put the country back on a genuine economic recovery path. These economic sanctions are not only predatory, but also cancerous for our economy, and must be removed.
They have caused significant disruption in the production of food, availability and distribution of pharmaceutical and sanitation supplies, jeopardised the quality of food, and the availability of clean drinking water.
They have severely interfered with the functioning of basic health and education systems, and undermined the citizen’s rights to work.
Empirical evidence shows that the sanctions on the economic activity of Zimbabwe directly impeded Government’s ability to guarantee the same basic human rights of her population that the imposers masquerade to be agitating for.
The actions by the hostile nations have led to a crisis of human rights in the country, and among the human rights compromised are – the right to water.
Water services, especially in urban areas, have been severely disrupted due to lack of equipment and chemicals, leaving the average household with running water for a few hours per week.
The basic right to education has been compromised due to a steep decrease in Government funding.
This has resulted in lack of necessary supplies and inadequate schools, endangering the right to education also worsened by electricity and internet shortages in this Covid-19 pandemic era.
The quality and availability of healthcare services deteriorated amidst extreme staff shortages and absence of essential medical supplies and equipment.
Maternal and infant mortality rates have risen as well as mortality rates from severe diseases.
We applaud the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for maintaining its stance that these sanctions are not only hurting Zimbabwe, but the entire region.
SADC has declared October 25 as the day of solidarity to lift the illegal sanctions, and member states will conduct various activities to resoundingly call for the immediate removal of these sanctions.
SADC’s call was occasioned by the fact that Zimbabwe is an independent State recognised by the United Nations – a world body – that either endorses or rejects actions intended to punish a country deemed to be erring in respect of values and principles that guide the operations of the UN Charter.
That these sanctions were mulled by western nations, notably Britain and its allies against Zimbabwe for alleged violation of human rights, the rule of law and property rights, among others, were vetoed by Russia and China, means that Zimbabwe should not have been punished by any member of the United Nations.
We also call for the unconditional lifting of all the sanctions because Zimbabweans have suffered a lot and deserve a rest from the West’s machinations.
