Province’s anti-sanctions march held in Mutoko

MARONDERA- Several people from all walks of life in Mashonaland East joined the
rest of the nation in marking the annual SADC Anti-Sanctions Day in Mutoko last
week
The commemorations were held under the theme, ‘Harnessing the Youth for
Accelerated Socio-Economic Development in the Fight Against Sanctions’.
The 39th Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit held in
Tanzania four years ago saw leaders of the block adopting a resolution declaring
October 25 every year the Anti Sanctions Day.
The resolution was in support of calls for the illegal embargoes to be lifted as they
were affecting the country and the region.
In 2001 when Zimbabwe embarked on the land reform programme to correct
imbalances, the United States passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic
Recovery Act (ZIDERA) in 2001 that cut all lines of credit from multilateral
institutions.
Other Western powerful countries also slapped Zimbabwe with the sanctions that
were said to be purportedly targeted at certain individuals yet they affected the
ordinary people and hurting the country’s economy.

“We are calling for the lifting of these so-called targeted sanctions because they are
not targeting the individuals or companies that the West purports to be taking aim at
our economy is suffering because of these sanctions.” said.
Chief Nechombo opined that Zimbabwe was being made to suffer because it took
the stance to correct colonial land imbalances by embarking on the land reform
programme which saw thousands of households being allocated productive land.
“This country is nolonger a colony of the British. Many people were confined and
crowded to areas that did not have good soils for their farming activities. Our leaders
saw it fit to address the land issue and that was our crime as a nation. As custodians
of our culture, we are adding our voice in calling for the removal of the sanctions,” he
said.
Several organisations, among them farmers, the church fraternity, the business
community, college students, teachers, the youths, women and war veterans, among
others, gave their solidarity messages.