by Ranson Madzamba

President Mnangagwa in his inauguration speech reiterated the need for those in authority to work hard for the good of the country and stop hiding their non-performances behind sanctions.

Yes this is no longer business as usual even the members of parliament must be accountable to the Constituency Development Funds they are given to develop their respective constituencies. They must stop saying they failed to deliver because of sanctions for this is the time for business not politicking.

As much as people must desist from hiding behind sanctions for poor performances something however must be done for these illegal sanctions to go.

In this second republic they do not have place and even the business gurus like Strive Masiiwa are now calling for their removal for the economic well-being of the country.  As much as the government has decided to continue looking east it has to be noted that the east is even looking west hence there is high need to energise our re-engagement efforts with the west.

The world is now turning into a global village that requires interaction with the rest of the world and for the good of our economy.  It is true China is providing better opportunities for the development of Africa as a whole but re-engagement with the West is also vital for an economy like that of Zimbabwe.

But the general public would always want to know what these sanctions are and where they come from and why.  Well, sanctions are penalties that are imposed to ensure compliance with the law.  The major goal of sanctions is to punish the rule breaker.  They are imposed for the rule breaker to change its policy and for the good of the imposer.  They are designed to safeguard the economic interest of the imposer.

Coming back to the Zimbabwean case, I would want to explore why the European Union, United States of America and Australia imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.  A number of pundits have written a lot on why Zimbabwe got this embarrassment from the Western countries.  The real issue why Zimbabwe got sanctions was because of the land reform.  This is a well-known public secret.  The land reform saw the black majority taking over farms from the former imperialists who happen to be the British. This did not go well with Britain and its allies hence they decided to impose economic sanctions on Zimbabwe.

As I have mentioned above, sanctions are imposed for the rule breaker to change its policy and for the good of the imposer.  Britain and its allies the USA included, did not like the land reform policy for they wanted the whites to remain in control of the best lands in the country.

Former United States of America Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Howard French had this to say pertaining to the land reform policy in Zimbabwe, “Everyone felt that they had invested something to the success of Zimbabwe, so when it all started unravelling, everyone felt personally disappointed”.  This indeed proves beyond reasonable doubt that the land reform triggered the Western countries to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.  It looks like Zimbabwe was showered with sanctions to discourage other countries surrounding it from taking over their land but from the outlook of things right now South Africa and Namibia have followed suite.

Well coming back to the land reform policy in Zimbabwe, it is now a constitutional phenomenon and it has been agreed it will never ever be reversed.  Yes it is now irreversible but sanctions must go. The rule of law is about the majority and the majority of Zimbabweans have agreed to reclaim their land and it is now even in the country’s constitution.

As much as the west felt disappointed by the land reform they are supposed to just lift the sanctions for the people of Zimbabwe have decided on what they want.  The same even goes to all that has been happening in the country as long as the majority of Zimbabweans endorse a decision it is just good for the international world to come on board and favour that which the majority want. This is what the rule of law is all about. The rule of law is even against meddling in the political affairs of another country.

All being said, Zimbabwe in this second republic is calling for more of re-engagement processes and appealing to the West to remove the sanctions for the economic good of the country. It is true, Zimbabwe is now open for business.