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On October 25, the SADC region will commemorate the Anti-Sanctions Day, a day dedicated to the call for the unconditional removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Western nations as punishment for the land reform programme.

As we count down to the important day, we carry today excerpts of statements and solidarity messages on the need to remove the illegal sanctions.

Below are some of the statements issued by South African President and the current African Union (AU) chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa on various platforms about the need to lift the sanctions that have hamstrung Zimbabwe’s quest to chart its own destiny and uplift the living standards of its citizens.

In November, 2028 during the 7th South Africa European Union Summit in Brussels.

“We discussed a matter of other countries in our region, particularly Zimbabwe and called upon the EU to review its position on Zimbabwe and move towards lifting whatever sanctions they might still have on Zimbabwe because Zimbabwe is on a path of great reforms and we insisted that this needs to be supported as the country has turned a wonderful corner,” he told a press conference on Thursday.

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the European Union (EU) to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe, which continue to hurt the economy for nearly 20 years saying the country has turned a wonderful corner and needs support on its path to great reforms.

In March 2019, during the third session of the bi-national commission between South Africa and Zimbabwe in Harare said the sanctions are “unfair and unjustified”

“South Africa has made a clarion call to the international community to lift the unfair and unjustified sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. We made the position clear at the World Economic Forum in Davos and recently at the European Union. We are pleased that the EU has lifted sanctions on some members of your Government. We want more than just that, we want to see real support for Zimbabwe”

On the occasion to mark the 57th anniversary of the establishment of the African Union in May this year Cde Ramaphosa said sanctions have to be removed to enable Zimbabwe to deal with the Covid-19 scourge.

 “The virus has exposed the deep inequalities that continue to exist on our continent and across the world. It has shown how far we are from realising our developmental goals and our responsibilities to the citizens of our continent

“As we deal with the impact of this pandemic, we repeat our call for the unconditional lifting of sanctions that have been imposed on Zimbabwe and Sudan.”

Ramaphosa, who is also chairperson of the AU, was speaking as the organisation marked the 57th anniversary”.

UN September 2020

President Ramaphosa called on the international community to support the roll-out of a comprehensive stimulus package for African countries.

“This will enable African countries to not only mitigate the health impacts of Covid-19 but to aid us in the immense task of rebuilding our shattered economies.

“To ensure that no country is left behind, we reiterate our position as the African Union that economic sanctions against Zimbabwe and Sudan should be lifted to allow their governments to respond adequately to the pandemic.”