By Innocent Mujeri

THE Government of Zimbabwe has welcomed calls by the United Nations (UN) and human rights activists for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on several countries, including Zimbabwe, as they hamper efforts for countries to effectively fight against the COVID-19 disease.

In a statement released by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr Sibusiso Moyo, the government applauded the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, for their call that sanctions imposed on countries like Zimbabwe be waived to ensure that they access food, essential health supplies and other COVID-19 medical support.

“The Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe welcomes the statements by the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet calling for the rolling back of international sanctions against countries around the world as an essential part of the global effort to contain Covid-19. The two leaders encouraged the waiving of sanctions imposed on countries like Zimbabwe to ensure that they access food, essential health supplies and COVID-19 medical support,” said Minister Moyo.

Zimbabwe, like many other countries is battling the scourge of COVID-19 pandemic which has claimed thousands of lives across the globe and sanctions imposed on the country by the West are hampering government’s effective response to the pandemic.

“The impact of these sanctions on the country is even worse during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan are severely hampered by the illegal sanctions imposed on the country. The capacity to import test kits, medicines, face shields and other protective kits has been limited. Even the private sector, which has a strong tradition of ploughing back into the community, has not been able to respond massively to this pandemic,” said Minister Moyo.

Minister Moyo further added that sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe have negatively impacted on the health sector.

“The Government welcomes the UN observation that sanctions have a debilitating impact on the health sector and that, in the context of a global pandemic, impeding medical efforts in one country heightens the risk for all of us,” said Minister Moyo.

In the statement, Minister Moyo also noted that sanctions have affected the performance of the Zimbabwean economy and poor people were the worst affected.

 “It is common knowledge that the performance of the Zimbabwean economy has been constrained due to the phenomenon of sanctions which have worked to worsen the socio-economic environment, with the poor and the vulnerable groups being the hardest hit,” noted Minister Moyo.

Minister Moyo said  that sanctions have impinged Zimbabwe's access to international credit markets and this has negatively affected the country as it can no longer  borrow from international financial institutions even in times of dire need.

Sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, Minister Moyo noted, have also not spared the private sector as they are finding it extremely difficult to access offshore lines of credit due to the  perceived country risk. If ever these companies manage to secure offshore financing, the interest is usually exorbitant.

Minister Moyo further said the country joins the UN family in calling for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe to allow the country to make progress with its socio-economic development plans, turn around the fortunes of its people and make a solid contribution to global well-being.

Last week Bachelet implored countries that have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Venezuela to remove those sanctions to allow essential medical equipment and supplies in those countries as well as to avoid the collapse of their national healthcare system during this period of COVID-19 pandemic.

In October last year, the African Union (AU) Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, reinforced SADC’s calls for the unconditional scrapping of illegal sanctions  imposed on Zimbabwe saying they continue to have negative impact on the economy and the people of Zimbabwe.