The Southern African Development Community (SADC) appealed to the West to scrap economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, reported BBC.
During his maiden acceptance speech after assuming the SADC chairmanship, Tanzania President John Magufuli said the sanction was hurting Zimbabwe’s development.
He said the problem that Zimbabwe is facing due to the sanctions is affecting all countries in the region.
“Zimbabwe has been under sanctions for years, but we need the world to understand that when you chop a hand, the whole body gets affected,” he said.
Magufuli called for other SADC member states to stand together to make sure that sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West are lifted. He said the sanctions are hurting Zimbabweans and people from the entire bloc as well.
“We should unite to support Zimbabwe against sanctions imposed by western countries, because they (sanctions), are hurting Zimbabweans and people from across member states,” he said.
Notably, in March, the United States President Donald Trump’s administration extended economic sanctions against Zimbabwe by a year. At that time, Washington said the sanctions would not be removed unless political reforms take place. According to the Reuters news agency, some 141 entities and top officials in Zimbabwe are on the US sanction list.
The European Union (EU) sanctions on Zimbabwe were first imposed in 2002 when Robert Mugabe was president. The sanctions comprised of an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban on targeted people and entities.
Zimbabwe is currently reeling from high inflation and shortages of basic supplies such as fuel, power, and water. Inflation is currently at a 10-year high, while the price of bread has increased five-fold since April. According to the United Nations, about five million Zimbabweans are currently in need of food aid.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa blames the sanctions for crippling development in the country. He says scrapping them would attract investors to Zimbabwe.
