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Thandeka Moyo, Chronicle Reporter
THE Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development is calling for proposals from researchers to carry out an in-depth study on the impact of Western imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.

The Government will fund the research and a comprehensive report with full results of the study must be completed within 12 months.

In a statement, the Higher Education Ministry said researchers interested in carrying out the study must submit their applications by October 15.

In selecting the awardee, priority will be given to high quality applications with the ability to address the research question in a way that provides useful answers to the Government to address human capacity building as well as policy formulation and implementation.

The submitted proposals will be evaluated by an Independent Evaluation Committee and an adjudication committee set up by the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF).

The Ministry said the study must establish the impact of the sanctions on ordinary people, Zimbabwe as well as SADC.

“The total budget limit for the application will be $150,000, 00. A comprehensive report with full results of the study will be required by the Ministry within 12 months following receipt of the award,” said the Ministry.

“The socio-economic environment created by the sanctions saw several donor funded agencies and international NGOs relocating their offices from Zimbabwe to neighbouring countries. It is estimated that the sanctions have cost Zimbabwe well in excess of $42 billion since 2001 which affected various vulnerable groups of the country’s population.”

It said the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe following the country’s land redistribution programme have so far been described mainly from a political perspective.

Thus, the study must provide an informative qualitative characterisation of the sanctions from various perspectives including economic, trade, financial, cultural, diplomatic isolation, among others.

@thamamoe.