Harare: EXILED telecommunications mogul and philanthropist Strive Masiyiwa has repeated his calls for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe to ostensibly “end the suffering” of fellow countrymen.
United States President Donald Trump in August last year signed into law the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act (Zidera) of 2018 (S 2779) imposing tough new conditions to be met before sanctions are lifted.
The law, which amends the Zidera of 2001, effectively extends US sanctions against Zimbabwe.
“I am with the people of Zimbabwe and their suffering must end and end now. Sanctions must end and name-calling will not intimidate me,” Masiyiwa said in his Facebook post.
The European Union and the US imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2001 targeting individuals as well as banning direct government assistance for non-humanitarian programmes after they accused former-president Robert Mugabe of trampling on human rights, rigging elections and repression of press freedom - accusations that the nonagenarian denied.
Government blames the sanctions for the poor performance of the economy.
