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By Eugene Majuru.

London.(News Of The South) – U.S. President Barack Obama has issued an order to extend by one year a series of sanctions against Zimbabwe.

In a statement published on the White House website, Obama said “The threat constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic process or institutions has not been resolved”.

President Obama went on to say “These actions and policies continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the US. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue this national emergency and to maintain in force the sanctions to respond to this threat”.

Under the administration of George W. Bush, the United States introduced economic sanctions on Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, 2001 (ZIDERA).

Through this enactment Zimbabwe’s access to finance and credit facilities was effectively incinerated. ZIDERA empowers the US to use its voting rights and influence (as the main donor) in multilateral lending agencies, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the African Development Bank to veto any applications by Zimbabwe for finance, credit facilities, loan rescheduling, and international debt cancellation.

News of the South managed to get a comment from ZANU PF UK Spokesperson Itai M.P Choto who described the sanctions as “retrogressive and inconsistent with the norms of international law.

”The chapter’s Communication’s Chief went on to highlight that “It would appear that the objective and agenda of US Foreign policy is to keep poor countries like Zimbabwe down, through unilateral sanctions, enforcement of debt repayment, trade barriers, and IMF/World Bank structural adjustment policies. These factors serve to reinforce the political and economic dominance of the West, while inhibiting, and actively prohibiting, growth in Africa.

“To many ordinary Zimbabweans, these actions are also uncomfortably reminiscent of colonial rule and imperial meddling. The desire to be free of sanctions, and to assert a renewed, positive image of Zimbabwe, is something that genuinely unites our people across demographic divides.”

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