The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
THE Zimbabwean Government has paid tribute to the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) for the two bodies’ stance on the illegal sanctions imposed on the country.
Zimbabwe declared 25 October, the anti-sanctions day, an official public holiday to show the importance of the day to the economic emancipation and well-being of the country.
The day was also endorsed by Sadc and the AU in solidarity against sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the United States and her Western allies.
In a statement to commemorate Africa Day, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Cde Monica Mutsvangwa said as a country, in the face of imperialist hegemony, Zimbabwe celebrates the illustrious role of Pan-African conscious media players who have lobbied for Afrocentred information sharing and in the process strengthening the synergies of the continent and its Diaspora.
“We express our exclusive gratitude to the various media houses that have projected a positive image of our nation in the past twenty-one (21) years since the imposition of illegal sanctions by the United States of America (USA) and its other worldwide anti-land reform allies.
“The Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services further expresses unreserved gratitude to the AU and Sadc for initiating the now widely embraced 25th October Anti Sanctions Resolution. We are thankful that the continent finds value in our cause for the unequivocal removal of the illegal sanctions,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
She paid gratitude to President Mnangangwa’s committed support for Zimbabwe’s participation in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AcFTA), noting his proactive stance in making Zimbabwe play a leading role in the pursuit of peace and security in the region and the African continent at large.
“Under the able leadership of President Mnangagwa, the Ministry will continue to discharge its oversight role in Zimbabwe’s media space towards the creation of an enabling environment for the creation, production, distribution and consumption of media content which genuinely celebrates Africa, promotes African self-determination, freedom, unity, solidarity, cooperation and the integration of all its peoples.
“Our decorated New Dispensation doyen, President Mnangagwa’s penchant for transformative governance has been of great service to the reform of the information, publicity and broadcasting sector in Zimbabwe. His constitutional enablement of media freedoms has seen an accelerated licensing of new media houses, community radio stations bridging the urban – rural information gap,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
In addition, she noted that the Second Republic has put in place mechanisms to facilitate ease of accreditation for Zimbabwean and visiting media practitioners and journalists.
Africa Day is a day set aside to celebrate the formation of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now Africa Union (AU) on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
