Strive Masiyiwa's call on Zimbabwe sanctions justified

The MDC and other mean-minded elements continue to exhibit highly disingenuous thinking where anyone who is against Western sanctions against Zimbabwe and calls for their removal, is automatically viewed as either a dull or ZANU-PF supporter.

With this kind of mentality, we are going nowhere, and it means the opposition itself does not understand democracy, loyalty and patriotism. It is time to open our minds and think in terms of what is really good for our country.

Politics should be politics, but objectivity should prevail for us to deal with our challenges. Let's look at national problems as they are and avoid partisan politics.

The continued attack on ECONET founder and executive chairman Mr Strive Masiyiwa by the opposition after he vowed to stand by the people of Zimbabwe, reiterating his call for the removal of illegal sanctions imposed by Western nations in 2001 over the land reform programme is unjustified and not fair on the part of the business mogul.

The sanctions have caused untold suffering to the ordinary citizens and are strangling Government efforts to turn around the economy and better the lives of its citizenry hence all progressive citizens should speak with one voice and call for their removal.

New York-based Human Rights Watch executive director Mr Kenneth Roth, and his local representative Dewa Mavhinga who is a career MDC activist and rabid critic of anything good the Zanu-PF Government does are among those unreasonable cyber-bullies who have been attacking Mr Masiyiwa and his wife, Tsitsi for calling for the removal of sanctions.

In a long Facebook post responding to Mr Roth, Mr Masiyiwa challenged the American, who has been at the helm of Human Rights Watch since 1993, to retire and let a new generation take up the fight, otherwise he would soon become the thing he fought against.

Local businesspeople and many other patriotic and peace loving Zimbabweans have supported Mr Masiyiwa's call noting that sanctions are hurting ordinary Zimbabweans and crippling the economy.

In November 2018, Mr Masiyiwa joined the likes of MDC-T deputy president Obert Gutu among other notables in the anti-sanctions lobby, stating that the embargo was no longer justified and should be removed as no country could prosper with its hands tied at the back.

He said the changes which had taken place in Zimbabwe since November 2017 were real and that President Mnangagwa was sincere about reforms and deserved a chance to turn around the country's economy adding that focus should be on economics rather than politics.

Masiyiwa's utterances drew denunciations from regime change merchants also including self-exiled politician Professor Jonathan Moyo who has, without success, tried to use the sanctions-induced suffering as an instrument to turn Zimbabweans against Government.

Alpha Media Holdings chairperson Mr Trevor Ncube on his Twitter page posted supporting Mr Masiyiwa saying the illegal sanctions were a hindrance to economic growth adding that for decades he and others supported the opposition MDC financially and otherwise and that the opposition has disappointed many times.

Ncube highlighted that people have democratic right to change their minds. Industrialist and former president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Mr Busisa Moyo said that sanctions should be viewed as a crime against humanity at ICC because they are equally brutal to issues they purport to address.

In a post-election interview with the Daily Maverick on August 1 last year, MDC member Tendai Biti declared that the international community is not going to be fooled by what he purported to be "madness" and that they would make sure that Zimbabwe will not get a cent.  

Asked how he would do this, he said that he could not reveal how, but that they have done it before. What a disgusting and shameless leader.