Gweru (The Times- New Ziana) – Midlands Province will join the rest of the country in commemorating the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Anti-Sanctions Day on October 25, with a number of activities lined up, officials have said.

Among other things, there will be a soccer match, a music gala and a procession to mark the day, which is aimed at presenting a united national voice against the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the United States and the European Union.

SADC has joined Zimbabwe’s calls for the lifting of the embargo.

The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Midlands, Senator Larry Mavima will read the main speech after the procession in Gweru.

“We want to have a procession in the Central Business District, after which the minister will present his keynote address. The music gala and soccer match will be held at Mkoba Stadium,” a member of the organising committee said.

At its 39th Summit in August this year in Tanzania, SADC resolved to collectively assist Zimbabwe, one of its founding member countries, in campaigning for the sanctions to be removed.

The group set aside October 25 on the SADC calendar as a day for its global campaign against illegal sanctions.

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in the early 2001 to force the government to abandon its land reforms, under which it compulsorily acquired prime agricultural land from the minority whites to resettle the landless black majority.

The sanctions, which include trade restrictions and withdrawal of bilateral and multilateral financial support, are estimated to have cost the country about US$100 billion over the past two decades.

The Times-New Ziana