PEOPLE’S PARTY – PRESS STATEMENT
SANCTIONS RENEWAL BY THE UNITED STATES
The Emmerson Mnangagwa administration pretends to be surprised over the renewal of United States sanctions on ZANU PF elites. After the military coup of November 2017 that overthrew former President Robert Mugabe, Emmerson Mnangagwa was presented with an excellent opportunity to change the political trajectory of the nation of Zimbabwe; an excellent opportunity to unite Zimbabweans across the political divide. He failed to do so. Instead, his presidency has been characterised by summary arrests of opposition members, execution of unarmed civilians by the military on August 1 and January 14th.
Despite a history of human rights violations, the people of Zimbabwe, the international community and indeed Zimbabweans in the diaspora converged and gave Emmerson Mnangagwa an opportunity to distinguish himself from his predecessor.
In fact, in a meeting with US senators, Jeff Flake and Chris Coons in 2018, Emmerson Mnangagwa assured Zimbabweans and indeed the international Community that real reforms would be implemented. This has not happened.
The People’s Party is concerned with the direction the country has taken. The people are suffering whilst those connected to the Mnangagwa administration live lavish lives. The deep economic problems, are a result of mis-governance, corruption and the deep-rooted patronage culture. The People’s Party will not continue to watch this regime impoverish the citizens of Zimbabwe.
The renewal of the US sanctions on the Zanu PF elite is a direct result of failure to adhere to promises made. The world is a global village and the Emmerson Mnangagwa can’t continue to hold Zimbabweans hostage to primitive politics, whilst the rest of the world is moving forward. The unilateral amendment of a Peoples Constitution agreed in 2013 to after a people’s referendum without going back to the people, is further proof of a regime that refuses to change.
We therefore call upon the regime to do the right thing, institute REAL reforms, implement Motlanthe Commission recommendations, investigate the military killings and bring the perpetrators to book and deal decisively with corruption.
Department of Information and Media
05/03/2020