(NEWZIMBABWE, REUTERS) South Africa urges West to lift Zimbabwe sanctions
South Africa urges West to lift Zimbabwe sanctions14/06/2012 00:00:00
by Reuters
SOUTH Africa wants Western nations to lift economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and is pressing Harare's power-sharing government to speed up reforms needed to bring about elections in the troubled country.
Zimbabwe plunged into a serious economic recession over the last decade due to what analysts have said is economic mismanagement by President Robert Mugabe
[Actually that is a political claim and a lie. Macro economic data clearly show that the collapse of the Zimbabwe Dollar coincided with the credit freeze that is part of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, Section 4C titled Multilateral Financing Restriction. It should be clear to all that the mine owners who are in control of South Africa's and Namibia's mines are not looking forward to effective land redistribution, or effective taxation of the mines, let alone nationalisation. - MrK]
and his Zanu PF party and was also hit with sanctions by the West for suspected human rights abuses and alleged vote rigging.
“It's not just Zimbabwe that's saying the sanctions are not working. The entire continent is saying that,” Lindiwe Zulu, South African President Jacob Zuma's top foreign policy advisor told Reuters on Thursday.
Analysts say the sanctions have been exploited by Mugabe for his political purposes, blaming them for his party's economic blunders that have caused what once was one of Africa's richest nations to now be among its poorest.
[Well those analysts are lying. Those 'analysts' wouldn't be John Robertson and Eric Block, now would they? - MrK]
Mugabe insists the sanctions are responsible for teh counntry's economic problems.
[So do I, and I am not 'Mugabe'. - MrK]
Zulu is part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative led by Zuma aimed at ending the political turmoil in Zimbabwe and holding free and fair elections by next year.
Mugabe, 88,
[Why is it obligatory to mention President Mugabe's age at every occasion? That is not news reporting, that is propaganda. - MrK]
has ruled the country since its independence from Britain in 1980.
[Actually he has been re-elected for 30 years, because there really is no alternative to nationalism. Zimbabwe has not missed a single election since 1980. The only party to challenge the ZANU-PF has been the Anglo-American Corporation's stooges, the MDC. - MrK]
He was forced into a power-sharing deal with rival and now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after a disputed 2008 poll marred violence.
[Proof that anyone 'forced' the ZANU-PF into a power sharing government? Were they 'forced by circumstance', perhaps? - MrK]
“Now the challenge for us is to speed up the process and have a result that is lasting, or to make sure whatever decisions are implemented, are things that the Zimbabweans themselves must honour,” said Zulu.
South Africa is the country most affected by turmoil in Zimbabwe. Millions flooded across their border due to Zimbabwean election violence in 2008, straining South Africa's schools, housing and health services.
[No, millions did not 'flood across their border'. There is no evidence whatsoever that there are '3 million Zimbabweans in South Africa', according to the Forced Migrations Studies Program of Witwatersrand University, which actually researched the basis of that claim. The number was completely media generated. Also, the implication of the claim that "South Africa is the country most affected by turmoil in Zimbabwe" is that the South Africans want economic sanctions against Zimbabwe lifted for selfish reasons. - MrK]
Pretoria has been criticised for not pushing Mugabe hard enough but Zulu said forcing change would not solve its neighbour's underlying problems or bring a stable democracy.
[Criticized by whom? Tony Blair? - MrK]
No date has been set for polls but the time frame for the power sharing deal known as the “Global Political Agreement” has key provisions expiring in June 2013 with one stating national elections should take place before the end of the process.
[It is the MDC that is stalling, because they know they are going to lose the elections. - MrK]
“The fact that the global political agreement does not have an endless life span is pushing them to realise that they don't have the luxury of time anymore,” said Zulu.
Global aid agencies and international businesses are expected to inject billions of dollars once Zimbabwe, which has the world's second-largest platinum reserves, has a stable government.
“We do not want to see a repetition of the 2008 scenario. We know what it looked like. It is a lesson for Zimbabweans themselves to ensure it does not repeat,” Zulu said.
“We are very confident that we still have it in our power, just like the Zimbabweans still have it in their power, to turn the tide and do things better,” Zulu said
Labels: LINDIWE ZULU, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
posted by MrK @ 10:43 AM
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