Staff Reporter
Government has escalated the anti-sanctions fight after successfully organising Zimbabweans to participate at the Solidarity Anti-Sanctions Solidarity Summit (SASS) in Mutoko yesterday. An Anti-Sanctions Expo also ran concurrently with the meeting.
Addressing delegates at the Summit which was at Gohori Resort in Mutoko yesterday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere said that SASS was important as it educated Government agencies, the private sector and the whole country on the nature of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
“SASS was conceptualised to promote truthful reporting on the illegality of sanctions and the adverse existential impact they have exerted on our national economy particularly in the banking sector, technology transfer, and industrial equipment importation. The illegal sanctions initially stifled the growth of the agriculture industry.
“Likewise, the mining sector was also paralyzed by sanctions at some point. In the face of this concerted crisis by the makers of the sanctions, Zimbabwe has been denied access to international credit lines. Thanks to our inward looking policies, the Government was able to fund the fight against against COVID 19 pandemic,” said Minister Muswere.
Additionally, Dr Muswere said that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s engagement and reengagement efforts have paid off as the Second Republic was able to unite SADC in the fight for the removal of the illegal sanctions and this has led to the expansion of SASS to rally all people in Zimbabwe to denounce sanctions.
“I pay homage to the astute diplomatic genius of our Head of State His Excellency, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. Within a short period of his previous term, our Chief Diplomat, the President had convinced SADC to advance our cause for the immediate and unconditional removal of sanctions. This elaborates how his visions is closely intertwined to making Zimbabwe a respected actor on the international arena. His integrationist approach to global statecraft is the reason for the increase in the investment opportunities enjoyed by our business community.
“It is on this basis that the scope of SASS has been widened to incorporate the business component mainly featuring Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs).The operational output of every exhibitor at our Anti-Sanctions Expo substantiates the magnitude of the Second Republic’s success track record,” Dr Muswere said.
Meanwhile, the Government and the SASS have produced resolutions that will guide the country’s media anti-sanctions messaging in the future. The Government hopes that the continuous licensing of more radio and television stations will enable the media outlets to broadcast and publish anti-sanctions messages to Zimbabweans.
