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Barack Obama

Harare Bureau
The United States of America has extended its illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe by another year, a move described by Africa as “senseless and meaningless.”In extending the heinous embargoes, Washington made outrageous claims that President Mugabe was a threat to US foreign policy.

In a notice titled “Continuation of the national emergency with respect to Zimbabwe” published by the White House on March 3, US President Barrack Obama, claimed that the actions of the Government of Zimbabwe “contributed to deliberate breakdown of political and economic instability in the southern African region’’.

“The actions and policies of these persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States,” said President Obama.

“For this reason, the national emergency declared on March 6, 2003, and the measures adopted on that date, on November 22, 2005, and on July 25, 2008, to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond March 6, 2015.

“Therefore in accordance with section 202 (d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d), I am continuing for one year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13288.”

However, Africa did not take the move lightly, which is an indictment on the whole continent given that President Mugabe is the incumbent African Union chairman.

Over and above that, the revolutionary leader is also the Sadc chairman.

Dean of African Diplomats Mawampanga Mwanananga, said Africa should not dignify retrogressive moves by reading much in such statements from Washington.