News / National
Sanctions must go, says Gutu
30 Apr 2019 at 06:31hrs | Views
Former MDC-T spokesperson Mr Obert Gutu has admitted that the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West are toxic and hinder socio-economic development.
Calling for the removal of the embargo in toto, Mr Gutu - who is now the vice president of the MDC led by Dr Thokozani Khupe - said he was "misguided" in actively supporting the imposition of sanctions.
He added that all along he "naively" believed that the embargo would lead to the democratisation of Zimbabwe. Mr Gutu in an opinion article said the fact that he had seen the light on the contentious issue did not mean that he was now supporting the ruling Zanu-PF party .
"Where the overall interests of Zimbabwe supersede and overtake my own private and personal interests, I don't hesitate to sacrifice my personal interests for the common good of my beloved country and continent," he said.
"This is the major reason that informed how I reached my Damascus (sic) moment regarding the issue of sanctions against Zimbabwe. Here and now, I will fully admit that at one time, I was thoroughly misguided in actively supporting and actually calling for the imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
"At that juncture, I rather stupidly and naively believed that the imposition of sanctions would naturally lead to the full and total democratisation of Zimbabwe. I was wrong; totally wrong. The reality is that sanctions actually cause more harm, political suffering and socio-economic agony to the majority of innocent Zimbabweans, most of whom are not even political activists."
He said sanctions did not hurt political leaders as much as they hurt "the ordinary man and woman in the street and in the village or township."
"After undertaking a thorough and deep study and introspection on the effects of sanctions on the generality of the people of Zimbabwe, I then reached my Damascus (sic) moment and began to appreciate how evil, toxic and retrogressive sanctions are against the welfare of the majority of my Zimbabwean compatriots.
"Thus, I'm unashamedly and passionately calling for the lifting of all forms of sanctions that were imposed against Zimbabwe by the major Western powers such as the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union," he said.
Calling for the removal of the embargo in toto, Mr Gutu - who is now the vice president of the MDC led by Dr Thokozani Khupe - said he was "misguided" in actively supporting the imposition of sanctions.
He added that all along he "naively" believed that the embargo would lead to the democratisation of Zimbabwe. Mr Gutu in an opinion article said the fact that he had seen the light on the contentious issue did not mean that he was now supporting the ruling Zanu-PF party .
"Where the overall interests of Zimbabwe supersede and overtake my own private and personal interests, I don't hesitate to sacrifice my personal interests for the common good of my beloved country and continent," he said.
"At that juncture, I rather stupidly and naively believed that the imposition of sanctions would naturally lead to the full and total democratisation of Zimbabwe. I was wrong; totally wrong. The reality is that sanctions actually cause more harm, political suffering and socio-economic agony to the majority of innocent Zimbabweans, most of whom are not even political activists."
He said sanctions did not hurt political leaders as much as they hurt "the ordinary man and woman in the street and in the village or township."
"After undertaking a thorough and deep study and introspection on the effects of sanctions on the generality of the people of Zimbabwe, I then reached my Damascus (sic) moment and began to appreciate how evil, toxic and retrogressive sanctions are against the welfare of the majority of my Zimbabwean compatriots.
"Thus, I'm unashamedly and passionately calling for the lifting of all forms of sanctions that were imposed against Zimbabwe by the major Western powers such as the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union," he said.
Source - the herald
