Southern African Development Community (SADC) executive secretary, Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax has said the regional bloc will launch a campaign ahead of Zimbabwe’s anti-sanctions day to try and compel western countries to remove sanctions against beleaguered Zimbabwe, The Sunday Mail reports.
According to the publication the campaign will see:
The Sadc secretariat taking the fight to the global arena, to confront the United States and its Western allies. In addition, Sadc ambassadors in various Western capitals have been directed to undertake intense lobbying on behalf of Zimbabwe in their host countries.
Responding to questions about the campaign Dr Tax said:
With this campaign, Sadc is engaging the nations that have imposed sanctions, in particular the United States of America and the European Union (EU), to put the lives of the Zimbabwean people first.
This year, Sadc will intensify engagements with the countries that have imposed the sanctions, and urge them to lift the measures.
Sadc firmly believes in the power of dialogue, which remains an integral component of Sadc’s efforts to call for the removal of sanctions.
Dr Tax further explained the campaign and said SADC stands with the people of Zimbabwe in fighting the sanctions imposed on 37 entities and 83 individuals and said:
The collective position of Sadc is that the sanctions have caused severe suffering for the citizens of Zimbabwe, impeding the country’s efforts to resuscitate the economy and improve the livelihoods of her people.
The severity of the impact of sanctions has been compounded by, among others, the Covid-19 global pandemic, as the continued existence of these coercive measures has significantly affected the country’s response capacity.
Meanwhile, the government through the information secretary has detailed the program line up for the anti-sanctions day which will be a public holiday.
More: The Sunday News