PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa will lead the anti-sanctions crusade from the front, with Zimbabwe’s Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces expected to address tens of thousands of marchers in Harare next Thursday.
The march is in support of the decision by the 16-member Southern African Development Community to declare October 25, 2019 a Solidarity Day with Zimbabwe in the fight against illegal sanctions imposed on the nation by some Western countries.
Illegal sanctions have hampered President Mnangagwa’s economic turnaround efforts, as Zanu-PF’s First Secretary executes a programme to transform Zimbabwe into a middle-class economy by 2030.
The embargo has blocked lines of credit to productive sectors, decimated industry’s capacity to purchase new equipment and spares, and seen banks failing to transact on behalf of clients on international platforms.
These, and other effects, saw President Mnangagwa’s Government successfully rollout a diplomatic blitz that recently saw Sadc making its most strident declaration yet in support of the end to sanctions on Zimbabwe.
While the regional bloc and other international organisations have in the past voiced opposition to the sanctions, this is the first time Sadc has actually set aside a day to stand in solidarity with Zimbabwe on the matter, declaring October 25, 2019 anti-sanctions day.
To that end, the ruling Zanu-PF is organising a solidarity march ahead of October 25.
Zanu-PF Secretary of Administration Dr Obert Mpofu said the issue of fighting sanctions went beyond political party affiliation and embraced all Zimbabweans.
“We want (it to be) a national event. The solidarity march will include the Government, civil society, students, the business community (and) all political parties, among others, to participate in the solidarity march. The event is open to everyone,” said Dr Mpofu.
Last week in Japan, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe would not relent in its quest to fight the illegal sanctions.
He said of US sanctions couched under the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act: “Zidera constrains us. For the past 20 years, we cannot access support from the IMF, World Bank, IFIs (international finance institutions). Those Bretton Woods institutions cannot extend any lines of credit to Zimbabwe.
“So, we are surviving through our own domestic means. We are doing our best. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and blame the Bretton Woods institutions for not giving us credit.”
The international character of the anti-sanctions lobby has included a pitch by immediate past African Union Chair President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to G7 leaders in France last week for Western nations to end their discredited embargo on Zimbabwe.
Further, regional leaders have tasked the Sadc Secretariat to take the lobby to current AU Chair President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, with the view to him taking the matter to the 74th Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly in the US in September.
