US sanctions on Zimbabwe similar to apartheid South Africa’s destabilisation of Frontline States

Zimbabwe has lost billions of US dollars in revenue because of the illegal sanctions. The illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the United States of America have had a serious negative impact on the economic performance of Zimbabwe, as they not only affect the key productive sectors, which are the mining and agricultural sectors, but also put a negative tag on the country’s image leaving investors and donors less than willing to support the country through investment and aid respectively.

Thanks to the ingenuity of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe is constructing its roads and bridges using it own resources. Most development projects of this magnitude are done using multilateral donors and not internal resources. The norm, the world over is that construction of roads and bridges is carried out basing on funding from such institutions as the World Bank. Zimbabwe cannot access the funding of that nature because of the illegal sanctions. Infrastructure of this nature indeed needs soft loans from such institutions as the World Bank. Zimbabwe is being denied the ability to float its own bond notes on the international market and raise foreign currency for infrastructure development.

Zimbabwe was denied this right by the United States of America, simply because the people of Zimbabwe waged a justified war of liberation, defeated the enemy, defeated imperialism, defeated capitalism and now that they have taken over their birth right, are being denied the right to enjoy it. What we are witnessing here is history repeating itself. The American Government’s imposition of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe has no difference with what apartheid in South Africa as military aggression and destabilisation of the then Front-Line States did before apartheid was defeated. Billions of dollars and millions of lives were lost in Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, in a calculated strategy designed to entrench economic dependency of the then Front-Line States on apartheid South African regime.

They wanted to stop the Front-Line States from supporting the just struggle of the people of South Africa led by the African National Congress in their just fight against apartheid.  The similarity of the evil activities of the United States of America to what apartheid South Africa did and was indeed defeated, lie in the fact that American Government does not want to see a politically and economically free Zimbabwe. They do not want to see us carry the revolution through to its logical conclusion which is complete control of the commanding heights of our economy. This is why SADC declared the 25th October the anti-sanctions day.

The motion that has been presented before this august House by Hon Mutodi deserves the support of this august House in as far as it has the potential to extricate Zimbabwe from the albatross of the illegal economic sanctions imposed unilaterally by the Government of the United States of America. The recommendation made by Hon Mutodi for Parliament to send a high-powered delegation – when l talk about high powered delegation, Madam Speaker Ma’am, I am indeed looking at your Chair.  Indeed, in the name of the Speaker of Parliament himself, Hon Adv. J. F. Mudenda to lead the delegation to address Congress and present a briefing paper to the President of the United States of America. Madam Speaker, this is a necessary initiative which should be supported by this august House. Indeed, the illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe must go and must go now. I thank you Madam Speaker.

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