THE imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe by the West is
an act of cowardice and those behind the economic restrictions should lift
them, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has said. Officially opening the
60th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) here yesterday,
President Museveni unequivocally called for the removal of the illegal
sanctions, which have been blamed for frustrating economic recovery efforts.
“On behalf of Uganda, I want to condemn the sanctions
imposed on Zimbabwe for such a long time,” he said.
“This idea of sanctions is cowardice.”
Zimbabwe was slapped with illegal sanctions by Britain and
her allies at the turn of the millennium after the country embarked on a
successful land reform programme as part of efforts to correct skewed land
ownership which favoured the minority whites.
The country, as a result of the embargo, cannot access
lines of credit, making it difficult to operate a modern economy.
“Why do you put sanctions if somebody is wrong?” said President
Museveni.
“Leave him! He will be failed by the mistakes. Why do you
have to put sanctions if you know you are right and somebody is wrong? That
means you are not sure that one is wrong?
“Otherwise if you are sure that this one is wrong, why
don’t you let him say by his own mistakes.”
President Museveni appealed for the immediate lifting of
sanctions which are frustrating efforts to turnaround the economy.
He recalled how in the 1950s and 1960s there was a
dangerous confrontation between the East and the West, and at some stage,
leaders from the two fronts met and decided what they called peaceful
competition as opposed to confrontation.
President Museveni said Africa should work in unison to
fight the imposition of illegal sanctions on any of its member states.
“However, it is also the fate of Africa because we don’t
work together very closely. Had we been working closely, if somebody imposes
sanctions on one of us, we were supposed to be able to impose counter sanctions
on him,” he said.
“That’s what China does. When somebody imposes sanctions on
China, China imposes counter sanctions. Here we have got an equation which is
not balanced. Sanctions are one-sided forever and ever.
“I don’t agree with those who said that ‘Africans are too
weak to work together’. In the 1960s, we were much weaker than we are today,
but we were able to work together and support the struggle for freedom of
Southern Africa under the OAU which united our position.”
President Museveni said Zimbabwe played a pivotal role
supporting the struggle for freedom in Southern Africa, notably the struggle
for freedom in South Africa and other countries.
“Even here, I think if we discuss closely and commit, we
can have more impact on the global stage,” he said. “I am glad to be here
because when I was here in 1989, Uganda was a nightmare. Christians believe,
and I am one of them, that Jesus died, was buried and resurrected after three
days.
“Uganda died, was buried and resurrected also. When I came
here in 1989, Uganda had just resurrected. I think it was on a Monday because
Jesus resurrected on Sunday, so this was on Monday when we came out of the
nightmare.”
Before Uganda emerged from the woods, President Museveni
said it went through difficult times, which saw the living standard of the
ordinary people falling.
“In 1986, there was no sugar, no soap . . . virtually
nothing. All those items called essentials were being smuggled into the country
from other countries,” he said. “But today Uganda is much, much better.”
President Museveni urged Zimbabweans to soldier on and
remain resilient despite the prevailing economic challenges, saying the dark
phase will come to pass.
Under the new political administration led by President
Mnangagwa, the country is seeking to turnaround its fortunes guided by the
Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), as it works towards its long term
Vision 2030 of an upper middle income economy. Herald
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