Mugabe defends import ban

By Tatenda Dewa | Harare Bureau |

President Robert Mugabe has come out in support of a recently imposed import ban that caused violent protests by jobless Zimbabweans whose source of income was cut by the controversial law.

Addressing thousands of mainly ruling Zanu PF supporters at the National Heroes Acre in Harare to commemorate heroes and heroines who fought for independence from colonial rule, Mugabe said Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 was necessary to protect local businesses.

“This law (SI 64/2016) was made to protect our country, to help our farmers producing such things as tomatoes that are bought here but were rotting as some people were preferring South African products which are cheaper,” said Mugabe.

His speech barely lasted 50 minutes, in contrast to the hours he normally takes at such occasions.

“That was a way of helping them (local entrepreneurs) but it turned out to be a big issue as some people like Mr (Evan) Mawarire stepped in. There is no nation in this world that doesn’t protect (its own businesses). That is what we call dumping; you don’t want cheap used clothes to get into this country,’ said Mugabe.

Evan Mawarire, a Harare-based pastor, was one of the most prominent organisers of protests against the ban law, corruption and bad governance that recently rocked Harare.

Mawarire was arrested on treason charges that the magistrates’ court, however ruled unconstitutional.

The pastor travelled to South Africa upon his release, and Mugabe subsequently urged him to leave the country, accusing him of fomenting violence with the help of western governments.

Statutory Instrument 64 contains a long list of commodities, among them building materials, cosmetics and oils that thousands of Zimbabweans were importing from South Africa for resale to beat unemployment now independently estimated at more than 90 percent.

Without elaborating, Mugabe said government was working to ensure civil servants received their salaries timely.

For more than a year, civil servants salaries have been delayed, while, for the first time, the 2015 bonuses came months after, with some institutions yet to receive them.

He heaped praise on the security sector for “maintaining peace” in Zimbabwe. “We praise our security forces for the calm that has been, the peace that has been,” said Mugabe.

Police officers descended heavily on protesters during the July protests that claimed at least one infant’s life.

The European Delegation in Zimbabwe, human rights defenders, war veterans and political parties have condemned the brute force that police used to quell the protests.

Mugabe, 92, who faces an internal revolt over his long stay in power, called for peace and unity, saying civil protests destabilised the country.

“I call for peace and unity among Zimbabweans. Let us remain united in defence of our sovereignty, in defence of what our national heroes fought for.

“We should remain united; remain cognisant of the fact that, without unity, we cannot make much progress. That is why things like protests don’t pay because they usually end being violent protests,” he said. Nehanda Radio