Gauteng – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for an end to economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West, as well as for economic interventions in developing economies.
This came as he led the Africa Day celebrations yesterday.
Ramaphosa, who is also the chairperson of the African Union (AU), was speaking as the organisation market the 57th anniversary since its inception in Ethiopia with the vision of uniting the African people for their collective prosperity.
Ramaphosa called for unity among African countries as the anniversary coincided with the coronavirus pandemic.
“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,” said Ramaphosa.
He added: “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,” urged Ramaphosa.
The European Union (EU) has placed sanctions on Zimbabwe since the early 2000s following land grabs and violence under former President Robert Mugabe. with U.S. maintaining some of these sanctions today, contributing to the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy.
