Zimbabwe: Illegal Sanctions, Zimbabwe’s Breakaway From Western Traditions

Zimbabwe’s socio-economic challenges reveal how Western powers have historically exploited Africa, as described in Walter Rodney’s book “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa”.

In the quest for decolonisation, Zimbabwe embarked on the Land Reform Programme, which benefited many landless black majority who had been deprived of their right to their natural resources. Zimbabwe was punished with sanctions and this evidently demonstrates how peripheral economies are often paralysed and deprived of the ability to make independent policy choices.

In solidarity with Zimbabwe, the 39th SADC Summit of the Heads of State and Government, held in Tanzania, in August 2019, declared October 25 of each year as the day of team spirit against the illegal western imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe. This was after a realisation that sanctions are everybody’s business and the turbulence disturbs not only the people of Zimbabwe, but the whole of the African continent.

In the late 80s, Zimbabwe had to abandon its socialist agenda in pursuit of neo-liberal market-based policies, which were introduced by the Bretton Woods institutions that includes, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

To secure financial loans, Zimbabwe had in 1990, accepted and adopted neo-liberal values and practices through the Economic Structural Adjustment Programmes (ESAP).

The structural adjustment programmes consisted of financial loans by the IMF, WTO and World Bank directed mainly, to developing countries that had experienced economic crisis. Zimbabwe like all other post-colonial African states was required to implement a series of conditions, which covered every facet of the economy as a prerequisite to obtain financial loans.

The conditions included among others, trade liberalisation, devaluation of the local currency and opening up trade through removing protective restrictions such as import tariffs.

However, the adoption of the neo-liberal policies did not yield any better results. Zimbabwe experienced socio-economic turbulence characterised by, high rate of job losses, soaring rates, hyperinflation as well as reduction of state funding to education and health sectors.

More so, the policies largely subjected Zimbabwe into a debt trap and this compelled the country to introduce nationalist policies in quest for political and economic independence.

Advent of sanctions on Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s internal politics from the year 2000, was pigeon-holed as the period of Zimbabwe’s defiance to neo-liberalism.

In 2001, the country embarked on a Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), which redistributed land from white commercial farmers to the indigenous Zimbabwean black people.

Nonetheless, the land reform exercise was politicised and demonised by the US and its allies who abruptly imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.

The country’s financial assistance from the international financial institutions immediately ceased. Zimbabwe was isolated from the international community leading to the breakdown of relations between Zimbabwe and the West.

Sanctions on Zimbabwe were enacted by the US in 2001, through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA). The US Congress, put in place restrictive measures and withheld all the financial funding that was previously provided by the European Union (EU) to Zimbabwe.

In the same way, in 2002, the European Union joined the wagon and imposed targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe. Along the way, in 2014, some of the EU’s sanctions were relaxed but some senior Government officials, service chiefs and arms restriction are still in place.

Repercussions of sanctions on Zimbabwe

The repercussions of these sanctions on Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political systems cannot be disputed.

For years, the world watched with apparent nonchalance as Zimbabwe endured the ills of sanctions.

The country has lost billions of dollars in potential revenue, and some of the gains that the country had achieved in sectors of the economy have been severely reversed.

The worsening socio-economic turbulence has resulted in high levels of brain drain as skilled workforce often migrate to neighbouring countries.

Internationally, Zimbabwe is isolated and it is restricted to access any financial loans and credits from the IMF and World Bank. This has subsequently resulted in the country failing to meet its international obligations and increased payment arrears.

Sanctions have affected all the facets of Zimbabwe’s political and economic systems, and negatively affected all Zimbabweans in many ways. The above illustrations demonstrate how Zimbabwe like all other post-colonial African states are paralysed and deprived of the ability to make independent policy choices.

As such, African leaders and some sections of the society alike have criticised the weaponisation of sanctions in the internal affairs of African states.

It is amidst these realities of Zimbabwean politics that some scholars argue that, for years western prescriptions have not worked and Zimbabwe should play a leading role in charting its own independent national-development trajectory.

Strategies to counter sanctions

To counter sanctions, the key idea that has been evolving over the years is the paradigm of “engagement and re-engagement”. Since assuming office in 2017, the Second Republic’s administration, under the leadership of President Mnangagwa has called for re-engagement with western powers.

The change of language, and conceptual approach is critical; it often creates constructive re-engagement platforms, which after so many years are showing potential for the removal of all sanctions.

Most importantly, the availability of notable and encouraging headways for instance, Zimbabwe’s possible readmission in the Commonwealth and its participation in multilateral summits, unequivocally makes an important case for Zimbabwe to persist on this pathway.

Likewise, Zimbabwe can take advantage of President Mnangagwa’s SADC Chairmanship position to garner collective support from African counterparts and allies across the world, and amplify a coordinated diplomatic push for the removal of all sanctions.

On the other hand, it is prudent for Zimbabwe to create its own ideological narrative. An anti-dependency thinking infused with decolonisation underpinnings is what is needed to effectively counter the ills of western-imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.

The country needs to do things differently, it has to control the narrative, and its direction. Zimbabwe should de-link and discontinue reliance on Bretton Woods institutions.

Scholars such as Robert Cox argue that, the US-led financial power has been institutionalised by the setting-up of the Bretton Woods Institutions, to consolidate the global power of financial capital in the hands of the US and its allies.

These financial institutions exercise their power through offering loans and credits.

They are linked to free trade, which is a global capitalist project that keeps post-colonial African states like Zimbabwe from becoming industrialised and accumulate financial capital.