Maravi

(HERALD) Sanctions: Ball in MDC-T court

Sanctions: Ball in MDC-T court

BRITISH Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband’s statement that Britain stands ready to remove the illegal economic sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe if it receives a request from the MDC is a call to action on the MDC formations to make such a request with immediate effect.

Speaking during a question and answer session in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said Britain would lift the sanctions while the EU would take a phased approach to scraping the embargo.

‘‘In respect of sanctions, we have made it clear that they can be lifted only in a calibrated way . . . to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country,’’ Mr Miliband said.

The ball is now, as it always has been, in the MDC-T’s court. It’s time to condemn the sanctions. Mr Miliband’s statement could not have come at a better time for three reasons.

Firstly, the parties to the inclusive Government — Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC — are currently engaged in dialogue pursuant to resolving all outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement, chief among them the economic sanctions that have been identified as the biggest stumbling block to the viability of the inclusive Government.

Secondly, the EU is set to meet in Brussels next month to review the sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe, hence a unified call from the country’s leadership will send the right message that the sanctions have had a deleterious effect on livelihoods.

Thirdly, the US has also, through its Ambassador here Mr Charles Ray, announced that it is ready to review the sanctions by supporting the restoration of Zimbabwe’s voting rights in the IMF at its next meeting.

From the foregoing, it appears those who imposed the sanctions are ready to scrap them.

Regrettably, what has been lacking in the anti-sanctions lobby that has drawn in the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, Sadc and Comesa, is willingness on the part of the MDC-T to have the sanctions lifted as the party leadership appears to believe sanctions give them political leverage against Zanu-PF.

Yet the effects of the sanctions on the ordinary people have been apparent. The sanctions know no race or political affiliation.

To Mr Miliband, we say, does your government really have to wait to be told to lift the sanctions when it knows fully well the effects they have had on the lives of ordinary people? A graphic illustration of this was evident last year, when the British government airlifted its pensioners resident in Zimbabwe who had been reduced to lives of penury after their savings and pensions were wiped out by sanctions-induced hyperinflation. This was despite the fact that these pensioners had been cushioned by money from London channelled through the British embassy and aid agencies.

Just imagine the impact the sanctions have had on the ordinary black Zimbabwean without recourse to such social safety nets.

The onus is thus on both the British government to be humane; and the MDC-T to impress on its Western allies to scrap the ruinous embargo that has eroded livelihoods, destroyed lives and dreams and set Zimbabwe back several years in terms of economic and infrastructure development.

Labels: DAVID MILIBRAND, MDC, SANCTIONS, ZDERA

posted by MrK @ 9:36 AM