By A Correspondent
The anti-sanctions march that was supposed to take place in Harare this Friday turned out to be a huge failure.
The U.S. Embassy in Harare hosted a protest by the Zanu PF government, but the few people who did show up expressed their disapproval of the targeted sanctions.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and government representatives launched an online petition against the restrictive measures in Bulawayo, claiming that they are harming common Zimbabweans, while the Harare protest failed to gain momentum.
Speaking to the crowd in Bulawayo, Mnanagawa claimed that trade restrictions imposed by sanctions have undone Zimbabwe’s advancements.
It is commonly known that the unfair sanctions placed on Zimbabwe still have a significant impact on our people’s lives and social classes.
Mnangagwa addressed Zanu PF supporters, saying, “Sanctions are stifling our economy, undermining our right to self-determination, and compromising the achievement of the collective development aspirations of our motherland, Zimbabwe.”
“They have also restricted our freedom of trade. Limited access to foreign funding hinders investment and makes it more difficult for us to make sufficient investments in social services. The 82-year-old leader went on, “Because of this, the lives and means of subsistence of ordinary citizens have suffered.”
Prior to the annual Anti-Sanctions Day on October 25, the U.S. Embassy released a number of internet advertisements that refuted the government’s claim that the ruling class was subject to Western-imposed economic embargoes.
The government’s stance on the sanctions is being challenged by numerous online Google ads that claim that “11 not equal 16 million” people are on the sanctions programme.
The U.S. embassy claimed that the current state of the nation was due to corruption rather than sanctions.
The United States, Britain, and the European Union imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in the early 2000s after the government of then-President Robert Mugabe forcibly seized land from white farmers.
U.S. President Joe Biden partially lifted the measures in March of this year, but he kept Mnangagwa and his inner circle in place despite accusations that they were reducing the democratic space and continuing to violate human rights.