President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that Zimbabwe’s sorry state of affairs is being worsened by “continued illegal sanctions” which were imposed on the country by Western countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.
He made the remarks in his Independence speech to mark Zimbabwe’s 40th independence. Mnangagwa added that sanctions limited the country’s participation on the geoeconomics arena.
He thanked the European Union for relaxing sanctions on the country and implored the United States to lift the sanctions without any condition.
The United States and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe on the turn of the millennium following the fast track land reform programme during which “grave violation of human rights” reportedly occurred.
The US and her allies refute claims by Harare that sanctions are on the country saying that they are targeted at individuals who participated in the abuse of human rights.
The narrative is also supported by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party which attributes the sad picture to maladministration bu ZANU PF.
Meanwhile, some analysts believe that sanctions cannot be targeted as they have an adverse unintended effect on unintended individuals.
More: ZTN