Zimbabwean News You Can Trust
The Citizens Against Economic Sanctions (CAES) has called on the United States Of America to remove all sanctions against Zimbabwe.
The organization’s leadership from the country’s 10 provinces on Saturday gathered in Harare, to update each other on the progress made towards pressuring the US to lift its sanctions targeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other government officials.
The initiative comes after the October 25 SADC anti sanctions day held in Bulawayo, where Mnangagwa launched an anti sanctions petition to encourage every Zimbabwean to sign it, advocating for the removal of sanctions.
Speaking on the sideline of the weekend meeting, CAES president Martin Zharare told 263 Times that citizens were buying the idea of signing petition papers, so that the remaining targeted sanctions are removed.
“We have been touring all ten provinces of Zimbabwe doing anti sanctions campaigns, and I want to tell you that we are eager to have those sanctions removed. All the ten provincial chairpersons of CAES and leaders from our provinces are here to declare it’s not only the president saying remove the sanctions, but Zimbabweans in their communities,” he said.
The Chairman of CAES in Mashonand West Province, Wallace Matavire, weighed in on what Zharare outlined, saying, “the sanctions are affecting Zimbabweans because there are no medicines in hospitals, youths are taking drugs, and the country can no longer borrow money from international banks, hence sanctions must be removed.”
Earlier this year, the US said it had removed sanctions, but stressed it has imposed the Global Magnitsky sanctions on a handful of 11 individuals, like President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice President Dr. Contantino Chiwenga, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, and Defense Minister Oppah Muchinguri, among other top government officials.
The US also imposed these targeted sanctions on three entities, claiming 11 individuals and 3 entities are involved in corrupt acts and serious human rights abuses.
CAES Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Briton Madengureni, blasted the US sanctions removal claim, insisting it was void to accept it if the Zimbabwean President is part of the targeted sanctions.
“Americans might have made utterances that they removed sanctions in Zimbabwe, but I don’t agree, because it’s impossible to remove sanctions if you leave the President himself under sanctions. If the US says they have removed sanctions totally, they should remove them to every Zimbabwean citizen,” he said.
