Ugandan President Museveni calls for lifting of Zimbabwe sanctions

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (PANA)  -  Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Friday called for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe, official source told PANA here.

The call follows targeted sanctions from the United States against Zimbabwe where 84 individuals and 56 entities in the southern African country have been placed under an embargo.

Museveni made the remarks at the 59th Edition of the annual Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) exhibition.

The ZITF which opened on Friday in the second largest city in the southern African country, Bulawayo, is expected to end on Saturday.

“On behalf of Uganda, I want to condemn the sanctions which have been put on Zimbabwe for such a long time. “This idea of sanctions is cowardice… So why do you put sanctions? If somebody is wrong, leave him. He will fail by his own mistakes. Why do you have to put sanctions if you know you are right and somebody is wrong? That means that you are not sure if the man is wrong," he said.

“Otherwise, if you are sure he is wrong, why don’t you let him fail by his own mistakes? When you put sanctions it means you are not really sure of yourself; therefore I would appeal to those who put sanctions on Zimbabwe to lift those sanctions. However, it is also the fault of Africa because we do not work together closely because if someone puts sanctions on us, we will put sanctions on them as well,” Museveni stated.

He said sanctions were one-sided and that Africa should work together to be able to respond to any embargo with one of their own.

“I think if we act closely and coordinate, we will be able to have an impact on the global stage,” Museveni said.

Museveni’s call for the lifting of sanctions followed similar sentiments made back in February by Sadc to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, saying the embargo was limiting private sector investment and hindering the country’s reform agenda.

Last month, experts in Washington, discussing whether or not Zimbabwe was a source of shame or opportunity for Africa, were unanimous in their position that targeted sanctions were hurtful to the country, and must be removed.

However, they equally held the Zimbabwean government and the ruling Zanu-PF party accountable for the poor state of the economy and overall decline.

Organized by the Washington-based think-tank Cato Institute, panelists of the discussion, titled ‘Zimbabwe: Africa’s Shame and Opportunity', challenged the United States and members of the international community such as the European Union, to remove the sanctions.

But sanctions on Zimbabwe from the European Union remain on former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace, along with Zimbabwe's Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, army commander Valerio Sibanda, and agriculture minister Perrance Shiri.

Further, there is an arms embargo against the Zimbabwe Defence Industries, a company linked to the military under the EU sanctions.

Thus, the United States remains the tougher sanctions which are implemented through the 2001 Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) and its amendment in 2018 which updates the law under the US government.

While ZDERA puts an embargo on 84 individuals and 56 entities which the Zimbabwe government has blamed for its economic misfortunes, it also requires the United States to vote against any new international lending to the southern African country.

This is through financial institutions known as ‘preferred creditors' such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank, and other financial institutions, all over whom the United States holds significant sway.

But economists have argued that while targeted sanctions have increased the risk of doing business in Zimbabwe, corruption, bureaucratic red tape, policy inconsistencies, lack of national engagement, abuse of human and property rights are largely responsible for the bad state of the southern African country.

After his speech, Museveni officially declared the 2019 edition of the ZITF an annual international business exhibition that attracts local and foreign exhibitors.

Museveni was invited to open ZITF by Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa amid many outcries from civic organisations, human rights bodies and opposition parties due to the Ugandan leader's dictatorial and authoritarian rule in his home country.

Mnangagwa was also in attendance at the 2019 ZITF.

-0-   PANA        RA    26Apr2019