The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) has accused the Government of continuously using sanctions imposed on selected individuals as a scapegoat to loot the country’s natural resources.
Zimbabweans mostly Zanu PF supporters turned out Tuesday for the SADC declared anti-sanctions rallies against United States and European Union imposed sanctions that the government has long blamed for the country’s economic troubles.
In a communique following an online rally on Tuesday, CiZC and its regional partners said corrupting and the looting of resources have contributed to the socio-economic crisis in the country.
“The Zimbabwean crisis is a crisis of governance characterized by a military dictatorship. Zimbabwe, since the November 2017 military coup has been under a de facto military dictatorship where constitutional rights and freedoms are suspended by martial law. Fundamental freedoms enshrined in the constitution have been suspended with civil society work being criminalized through draconian legislation.
“Corruption and plunder of national resources by political elites has contributed significantly to the socio-economic crisis in Zimbabwe, with the basic social services infrastructure continuing to crumble and thereby relegating the majority of Zimbabweans into abject poverty. Zimbabwe’s external debt has continued to grow due to excessive borrowing by the government to fill the gap resulting from the plunder of national resources, and currently, the external debt stands at US$13, 4 billion which is about 77 percent of the country’s total debt,” read the communique.
The organisations said re-engagement efforts by the Government have been hampered by crackdowns on the civic space ahead of the 2023 elections.
“Zimbabwe’s re-engagement efforts continue to suffer due to the continued clampdown on the democratic space and consolidation of authoritarian rule. The Zimbabwean government has continued to use sanctions targeted at individuals as a scapegoat to plunder the country’s resources and suppress basic freedoms. Regional solidarity by pro-democracy forces remains key in light of the continued clampdown on civil society and opposition activists especially ahead of the 2023 elections in Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabweans need to mobilize to resist being sanctioned by their own government and they can do this by boycotting businesses, institutions and political overtures by individuals implicated in corruption and human rights violations. Zimbabweans need to resist state party conflation, which has resulted in state security and virtually all other services being rendered partisan, by demanding accountability, independence of institutions and respect for the separation of powers,” said the organisations.
