African Union, SADC urge lifting of US sanctions on Zimbabwe

By Jeffrey Moyo and Hassan Isilow

HARARE, Zimbabwe / The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Friday called for the unconditional lifting of all sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe.

"The Chairperson remains concerned by the negative impact of continued sanctions against the Republic of Zimbabwe on the country’s socio-economic development and recovery efforts," his office stated in a message marking SADC’s Anti-Sanctions Day, observed annually on Oct. 25.

“In solidarity, the SADC community today joins Zimbabwe in calling for the immediate and unconditional removal of these unwarranted and cruel sanctions, which violate the basic tenets of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” stated Zimbabwe’s President and current SADC chairperson, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa emphasized that the imposition of sanctions undermines the collective efforts toward regional integration and sustainable development.

“May this message transcend our borders and reach the ears and rattle the conscience of those perpetuating these cruel sanctions. They must realize the extent of harm their reprehensible actions inflict on the generality of the people of Zimbabwe, on the SADC region, and Africa at large,” he said.

- March to US Embassy in Harare

In Zimbabwe, Anti-Sanctions Day was marked under the banner of the Broad Alliance against Sanctions, with a small group of citizens gathering outside the US Embassy to call for the removal of US-imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.

The Broad Alliance Against Sanctions is a group of supporters of Zimbabwe’s ruling party who have protested outside the US Embassy for about five years, making headlines with their near-daily picketing in the capital Harare.

The anti-sanctions demonstrators have blamed the sanctions for harming Zimbabwe’s economy, asserting that the embargoes are responsible for the challenges the country faces, including difficulties in obtaining credit, medicine, and educational opportunities.

“The sanctions must go. Every ordinary Zimbabwean is suffering because of these sanctions,” Edwin Mbewe, a protester, said.

However, the US Embassy refuted claims that the sanctions are to blame for the country’s economic struggles, instead attributing Zimbabwe’s economic crisis to government corruption.

“The notion that U.S. sanctions are the cause of Zimbabwe’s difficulties does not align with reality. This false narrative diverts attention from the real issues plaguing Zimbabwe. According to reports by Zimbabwe’s own Prosecutor General, Zimbabwe loses $1.8 billion to corruption annually,” said Pamela Tremont, the US ambassador to Zimbabwe, in a statement.

Further commenting on its page on X, formerly Twitter, the US Embassy stated, “there are no sanctions on the 16 million people in Zimbabwe. We urge the Government to deal with economic mismanagement and corrupt actors who are the root causes of Zimbabwe’s economic troubles.”

Ambassador Tremont also indicated that Zimbabwe’s economic problems are largely due to mismanagement, which she attributed to corruption costing the country about $2 billion annually.

The US Embassy concluded, “sanctions affect only 11 individuals and 3 companies in Zimbabwe, preventing them from using the U.S. financial and banking systems for their personal affairs and traveling to the United States.”