'Sanctions have made Zimbabweans wiser,' says Mujuru

ILLEGAL sanctions imposed on the country by the West have toughened Zimbabweans and taught them to produce results under highly unfavourable conditions , Vice-President Joice Mujuru has said.

Britain and its Western allies imposed sanctions as punishment to the country for embarking on the highly successful land reform programme.

The programme addressed land ownership imbalances skewed in favour of the white minority.

Delivering the keynote address at the recently ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), VP Mujuru said the hard work ethic would result in the country continuing to grow economically and realising its business potential after the harmonised elections this year.

"Indeed, the illegal sanctions have not been kind to anyone, but they have made every Zimbabwean wiser, including those who called for the sanctions.

"Post-election period, I am confident that Zimbabwe will see more consolidation of the preparatory work done by our political leaders. This period will also see development of many Public, Private Partnerships (PPPs) and more building blocks necessary for the economy to drive towards sustainable growth," said VP Mujuru.

She said the country would witness improvement in the way of doing business and the competitiveness of its products.

"There will also be improvement in the human development index, corruption index and happiness index to name a few. This means that both the Government and our captains of industry in the     disciplines of economics, finance, science and technology and many others are going to be busy in the true sense of the word," said VP Mujuru.

She said the 33rd Independence celebrations showed that Zimbabwe had matured politically, socially and economically.

VP Mujuru said the country's coming of age was a major factor in anticipated continued economic revival.

"This maturity is buttressed by the fact that the country has been and will continue                            to hold elections whenever they are due, choose their own leaders without interference, doing so using own resources, and continue to build trust and confidence required when fostering PPPs, promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), promoting harmonious and inclusive growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), hence trade facilitation," said VP Mujuru.

The VP said the country's vast natural resources, if processed as opposed to being exported raw, would give the country an edge in regional and world markets.

In a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe at the event, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said serious investors needed to invest in the country now, to reap dividends after elections.

"To those investors still sitting on the sidelines, I say to them the time to invest in Zimbabwe is now. There has not been a better time and opportunity to invest in Zimbabwe than now," said PM Tsvangirai.

He said the country had a clear road map of its economic trajectory until 2015, in the form of the Medium Term Economic Recovery Plan, adding that any Government formed after the election would stick to the plan as its economic blueprint.

Malawian President, Dr Joyce Banda, officially opening the trade fair of Friday, pledged her country's support in helping Zimbabwe get the illegal sanctions removed.