Trump rubbishes Mnangagwa’s anti-sanctions solidarity day

The US government through its Embassy in Harare has lambasted the President Emmerson Mnangagwa led administration over the Anti-sanctions solidarity day, saying Harare is skirting the real issues causing problems in country.

The day falls on the 25th of October, and came into being following a declaration by SADC member states last year to unite in the call for the unconditional removal of what they call unjust economic sanctions that have had a debilitating effect on the country’s economic development.

On this day, all SADC members’ states are expected to rally behind Zimbabwe in the fight against the sanctions imposed on the country, as they are said to be the cause of all the problems currently affecting the general populace.

However, response to the day, US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols says the solidarity day is a ploy to sway the Zimbabwean population away from the real issues, adding that Mnangagwa only needs to implement reforms as he promised during his inauguration.

“Anti sanctions and Solidarity day event are designed to destruct the people of Zimbabwe from the real causes of sanction.

“Instead the government should put the energy used to organise these events to achieve the agenda they campaigned about in 2017 and 2018 on the day of inauguration,” said Nichols.

He added that, this is a hallow and empty exercise which does not serve the greater interest of the people of Zimbabwe.

Apparently, for many years now, the Zimbabwean government has been blaming the country’s woes on the sanctions.

However, critics have been calling on the government to address the major issues that brought the sanctions in the first instance.

They say things like lack of rule of law, human rights abuses and political, economic, and media reforms among other need to be addressed. Corruption has also been a major cause of the country’s economic crisis, they say.

While almost all Zimbabweans want these sanctions to go, calls have also been made for government to stop the abuses, abductions and torture of perceived government critics.

-Zwnews