Home Affairs Minister and ZANU PF Manicaland provincial godfather, Mike Madiro have scoffed at the MDC’s comparison of the United Nations sanctions against the last Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith and those imposed on the Zimbabwean government by America (ZDERA).
In response to MDC senator Douglas Mwonzora who had said that ZANU PF should bust sanctions as Smith did in the 1970s instead of using them as an excuse for failure, Madiro retorted:
At least the Rhodesians did not have a political party in opposition like we have…
… Sometimes some of us love to go back to the past to justify their positions politically in the country but when they go back to the past, they are distorting issues. I am saying anybody serious about this country; we cannot forget about ZDERA.
ZDERA has affected all of us, our factories, our businesses, we cannot access loans outside Zimbabwe because of ZDERA and there is a political party that brought about ZDERA.
ZDERA was not created by Zanu PF; it was created by the opposition in this country. As long as those conditions continue, as the ruling party, we will do the best we can and indeed we are doing the best we can under the present circumstances…
The MDC Has been accused of inviting sanctions against Zimbabwe to force the public to vote against ZANU PF, a charge the opposition party has vehemently denied.