Prime Minister Tsvangirai did he give lifting of "sanctions" the thumbs up
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called on the West to remove the illegal economic sanctions in recognition of the national reconstruction process.
In his inaugural address to the Seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe yesterday, the Prime Minister finally added his voice to the growing anti-sanctions lobby led by Sadc, the African Union, Comesa, the Non-Aligned Movement and
progressives the world over.
President Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara have consistently condemned the embargo.
PM Tsvangirai said progress had been made in improving political polarisation and the West should, as a result, lift the ‘‘restrictive measures’’, an apparent reference to the sanctions.
"I therefore urge the international community to recognise our efforts, and to note the progress that we make in this regard, and to match our progress by moving towards the removal of restrictive measures," he said to applause from parliamentarians.
Some Members of Parliament had already begun denouncing sanctions a few minutes into the Prime Minister’s address.
Although some sections of the Western world began to soften their stance in the wake of the formation of the inclusive Government last month, Zimbabwe remains encumbered by the illegal sanctions that led to the cutting of lines of credit from multilateral lending institutions.
The Prime Minister said while Government was grateful to the donor community for humanitarian assistance, there was need to strengthen the relationship on the basis of respect for Zimbabwe’s sovereignty.
"What we need is to fully reestablish relationships with the international donor community, which will be respectful of our sovereignty, not a relationship essentially based on humanitarian assistance," he said.
PM Tsvangirai, who was sworn into Parliament on Tuesday, echoed President Mugabe’s statement over the past weekend that there would be no going back on land redistribution, stressing that the inclusive Government would institute measures to return the country to its breadbasket status in the region.
Efforts would also be directed, PM Tsvangirai said, at securing international support and finance for land reform with respect to compensation for former landowners and support for new farmers.
Mr Tsvangirai said President Mugabe, Professor Mutambara and himself had pledged to work together in implementing a comprehensive economic programme to resuscitate the economy.
Top on the list would be the need to increase production capacity, improve food security, ameliorate poverty, create jobs and deal with the high inflation, as well as take action on interest rates and the exchange rate.
Government would soon establish a National Economic Council comprising representatives from all economic sectors and civic society.
He also commended the multi-currency trading system enunciated in the fiscal and monetary policies saying this had removed major distortions that had become prevalent in the economy.
He challenged parliamentarians to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement, while ensuring that they would not fail their respective constituencies.
"Mr Speaker Sir, we also have an opportunity to distinguish ourselves as leaders, not just through the policies we develop and legislation we pass, but also through the ways in which we conduct ourselves as the elected representatives of the people," he said.
He stressed the need for national healing, which he said was a process that required support by all Zimbabweans and that the political polarisation prior to the implementation of the September 15, 2008, agreement had had far-reaching effects on the nation.
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