Aspiring Presidential Candidate, Rev Dr Gwinyai Muzorewa, leader of the United African National Council (UANC) says sanctions can only be removed if a new government is voted into power.
Rev Muzorewa said this while addressing media practitioners at a press conference in Bulawayo recently.
He explained that sanctions are mainly imposed on certain individuals who are deemed to be corrupt.
“The story that I know about sanctions is that they are imposed on certain individuals who are known to be so corrupt that certain countries bar them from doing business with them. They are therefore imposed on certain individuals or companies. Unfortunately, in Zimbabwe, it is just five percent of people who own these companies. If you run your own business you are not affected by sanctions,” Rev Muzorewa said.
“The current government will tell you that there are no sanctions but when you then want to campaign in a certain way they will tell you that sanctions are affecting us. They are just being used as a trick to manipulate situations. If I’m elected into office I will get to the bottom of this. Sanctions don’t take a gun. They only take a pen to sign off. If there indeed are sanctions in Zimbabwe, then Zimbabweans are punishing themselves by staying with leadership that has a record for attracting sanctions.”
Rev Muzorewa said he is confident that should he be voted into office, his reputation for transparency will enable him to converse with the Western World and have the sanctions removed.
“My history is known. It’s a history of transparency. If there are sanctions, the moment that the Eastern World hears that Muzorewa is the new president, we will have a meeting that week to discuss that the reasons for sanctions is gone with those who have lost,” he said.
