BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA
In his state of the nation address the MDC A leader shocked the nation by his loud silence on sanctions. ZANU PF has always said the opposition is after destroying the gains of independence and hurt the citizens of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is now groaning under the heavy yoke of the Economic down turn. The person who is causing this lunacy is among us and is Nelson Chamisa.Do economic sanctions destabilize the governments they target? A form of foreign pressure, sanctions are typically meant to alter the policies of other countries. There is much pessimism on whether they ever work. Economic pressure works in at least one respect: it destabilizes the leaders it targets and it destroys the citizens of such a country. It should be understood that pressure destabilizes in a large panel of cross-country time-series data.
The destabilization finding indicates that sanctions may be more effective at altering policies than we think.
Zimbabwe expected Chamisa and MDC A to rally behind President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and call for the total and unconditional lifting of all sanctions against Zimbabwe.
The latest move by Chamisa and his party was disheartening development given that the illegal sanctions were imposed purportedly in order to safeguard the economic interests of the West and boost the opposition.
The rationale behind the sanctions was to starve the population into rebellion. Instead of taking his SONA delivering ceremony to attack the sanctions Chamisa called for more actions to hurt the economy and the people of Zimbabwe. Zanu PF has always said that the sanctions are hurtful, entirely illegal, and totally objectionable and that they are affecting every citizen across ethnic, political, social and racial lines. But Chamisa after gathering all the foreign press and assaulting local press he did not talk against sanctions. His SONA was a resemblance of a home grown terrorism.
Even the Zimbabwean whites have come out to denounce Sanctions through the Zimbabwe against Sanctions lobby group which is sufficient testimony of this reality.
Chamisa should be reminded that former Zimbabwean cricket player, Heath Streak is leading the anti-sanctions campaign. Why would MDC A blame ZANU PF for the economic down turn when they are fully aware that they are the ones who caused the sanctions in the first place?
“The sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by America and the EU have begun to bite the country’s economy hard. it has become very hard for people to survive in Zimbabwe.
Anything which gives us a light at the end of the economic dark tunnel is labelled illegal. Our diamonds are now called blood diamonds. Our gold it will be soon called blood gold because of the Mashurugwi menace.
All what Chamisa would say is to encourage anarchy and violence in the country. He comes up with a solution which is not a solution but a cause of trouble again.
Chamisa was supposed to urge the international community to take heed the ever increasing calls for all sanctions against Zimbabwe to be lifted and to realise, if they have any shame, that their hypocrisy has now been exposed. What did Chamisa do instead he incited more violence as to create a confusion and to create a political crisis.
MDC A have realised that they will never be in power through the vote so they want to cause a political crisis which will justify a government of national unity. Zimbabweans are taken for a ride by this decorated liar Nelson Chamisa. Given the pain that unilateral sanctions are causing Zimbabwe, are they really the “silver bullet” policy that his Party hopes they will be? Sanctions have made Zimbabwe to bleed and Chamisa misses the opportunity to become a hero. The nation expected him to denounce the sanctions. This was never said even by mistake.
Since 2001, European governments have increasingly used economic sanctions to achieve their international political objectives against Zimbabwe. Despite a century of experience, however, the rationale for such measures remains far from compelling. These sanctions are illegal and must be condemned. It should be correctly pointed out that the sanctions are unjustified and are hurting ordinary Zimbabweans, it is with this fact in mind that Zanu PF dismisses as offensive, the refusal to condemn the sanctions publicly. By their silence MDC are giving a signal that sanctions must continue. Chamisa in his statements actually requested the West to put more pressure on Zimbabwe. He is pre occupied by power and nothing else.
He does not mind the effects of his big mouth on the lives of the ordinary Zimbabweans. MDC is only obsessed with power regardless of how we got there. EU has failed to justify the existence of the economic embargo which has caused untold suffering among the country’s citizens, forcing several firms to fold operations, owing to non-availability of long term capital. In this catastrophe MDC calls for more economic hurting programmes. Chamisa’s move was a display of hypocrisy, and Zimbabweans must take it as a non-event. Chamisa’s silence on sanctions is a mockery to the economic bloc as they are controlled by one nation whose interests are to stifle development in Zimbabwe, and Chamisa is used to fulfil that demonic end. Zimbabwe was put under illegal EU sanctions in 2002 after the bloc sided with Britain’s internationalisation of a bilateral dispute with Zimbabwe over land. The embargo has crippled some arms of government while many companies have folded operations, leaving thousands of people unemployed. It should be realised that governments often use flawed arguments to justify imposing sanctions, tainting our understanding of their rationale and effectiveness.
First, sanctions are justified as a gentler and more humane alternative to war. But this underestimates the potential for international diplomacy to resolve conflicts. And in reality, sanctions often pave the way for wars rather than averting them: “if sanctions are hurting, they must be working.” But this criterion of effectiveness fails to define what would constitute success. Worse, it flies in the face of evidence suggesting that – even when essentials such as food and medicine are excluded – sanctions hurt large swaths of the civilian population. They stymie economic growth, undermine production, and cause businesses to fail, resulting in higher unemployment. Sanctions can also fuel inflation by restricting imports and fuelling currency crises. Third, sanctions are often said to be “smart” and “targeted.” In practice, however, comprehensive economic sanctions are collective punishment. They squeeze the middle classes and impose a disproportionate burden on the poorest and most vulnerable, who are arguably the biggest victims of the very regimes that sanctions are designed to punish.
The West justifies sanctions on Zimbabwe as a way to uphold and promote human rights. But evidence suggests that civil-society entities and NGOs are generally among the biggest losers under sanctions. The reason why Chamisa and MDC cannot denounce sanctions is the belief that sanctions are necessary and effective in bringing about regime change. This has made these power hungry losers itch for more sanctions in order to effect a regime change. Chamisa and his handlers believe that sanctions are meant to weaken the targeted government’s .But by worsening the business and investment climate, economic sanctions take their toll primarily on the private sector and on the people. If anything, power becomes more centralized and concentrated as governments increasingly control supplies of strategic commodities given the shortages they cause.
Ultimately, the success or failure of economic sanctions is judged by whether they bring about regime change or change a government’s behaviour. Given the prevailing misconceptions about their rationale, it is not surprising – as we are likely to see again in Zimbabwe that they so often achieve neither goal. What is more certain is that destabilizing Zimbabwe will make the country more united than ever.
What MDC is doing now and shown by their silence on sanctions is to try and breach peace in the country. Once there is no peace in the country the opposition will be able to request outside intervention. All which is aimed by the MDC is the regime change.
Zimbabwe will not give in to these warped ideas. Zimbabwe will remain resolute and the people can now see the real devil amongst us.
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