Masisi stands tall in fight to remove illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe

President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana has reiterated that his country will always call for the removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Western countries over 20 years ago.

He told delegates at the signing of five agreements on child protection, cooperation in the field of tourism, cooperation in the field of agriculture and food security, water cooperation and cooperation on youth development at a ceremony to mark the end of the five-day third session of the Zimbabwe/Botswana Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Victoria Falls yesterday that the unjustified sanctions on Zimbabwe continued to frustrate development efforts and it was time they were removed unconditionally.

"We continue to advocate the unconditional removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe, which continue to dampen efforts towards economic freedom for the people and the children of Zimbabwe and the entire region. I wish to note Your Excellency and inform you, that when the EU met, I met the vice president of the EU Commission, Mr Borel, we had one-on-one, eyeball-to-eyeball engagement when he questioned my statement to the UN General Assembly. And between the eyeball-to-eyeball encounter between the two of us, he was the first to dip his face."

He appreciated the involvement of the business sector in the BNC meetings, describing it as critical to the driving of the economies of Zimbabwe and Botswana.

President Mnangagwa thanked President Masisi for the sterling leadership he provided the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security in 2020, when the organisation resolved to deploy the SADC Mission in Mozambique towards the fight against terrorist insurgency in Cabo Delgado province and the overall preservation of the peace and security of the region.

"It is however now important that we scale up our efforts in this respect with renewed resolve and a greater sense of urgency," added President Mnangagwa.

"On its part, Zimbabwe will be holding by-elections in March 2022, to fill vacancies within the national assembly and local authorities. These have been occasioned by recalls from Parliament by our opposition as they splitting, splitting and splitting, and recalling themselves out of Parliament. The by-elections could not be held earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic," said the President.

He told the delegates that preparations for Zimbabwe's scheduled 2023 harmonised general elections are progressing well, congratulated the Republic of Zambia for holding peaceful and successful elections in August 2021 and wished the Republic of Angola and the Kingdom of Lesotho successful elections this year.

Commenting on the Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged the region and the world at large, President Masisi said: "The discovery of the first instance of the Covid-19 Omicron variant by Botswana scientists is a demonstration that the continent is endowed with the requisite human capacity capable of participating in causes that aim to find solutions to human challenges.

"Our common resolve to advocate the equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines together with the massive rollout of vaccinations has contributed significantly to the management of the pandemic in our respective countries."