Coronavirus: Zimbabwe President Mnangagwa to go through with lifting national lockdown amid economic turmoil

19 Avril 2020

Harare, Zimbabwe, April 19 (Infosplusgabon) - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has decided to lift the national lockdown to combat COVID-19 (coronavirus), scheduled for Sunday amid increasing infections.

Zimbabwe’s confirmed COVID-19 cases as at Saturday stood at 24, from 14 cases recorded on April 12, with three deaths recorded to date.

The increase was mainly due to a 400 percent increase in COVID-19 infections in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, currently standing at 10 from two on April 12.

“Beyond grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to keep our economy functional. Unavoidable shocks and disruptions must be mitigated,” said Mnangagwa, in his Independence Day video address on Saturday.

“Whilst the lockdown is over, we must all get back to work with discipline and harder effort as we ready ourselves for a speedy economic recovery.  The silver lining to the present global health crisis is the awakening of our national creativity and inventiveness,” he said.

Zimbabwe Saturday marked its 40th Independence Day that comes amid widespread poverty and hunger as well as political, social and economic turmoil.

The day also arrives amid a rapid increase in COVID-19 infections, both locally and in the countries of Zimbabwe's biggest trading partners, South Africa and China, that has resorted to preventative measures that are adversely affecting the local economy.

The effect is largely on Zimbabwe’s foreign currency generation, individual incomes and production capacity.

At this week's International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring meetings, the fund projected Zimbabwe’s economy to contract for a second straight year by 7.4 percent for 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As such, the Mnangagwa-led administration is under increased pressure to lift the 21-day national lockdown implemented on March 30 and scheduled to end Sunday.

“Henceforth, scientific research, development, innovation and technologies for the vast economic spectrum towards the greater value addition will be encouraged,” Mnangagwa said.

He said Zimbabwe’s turmoil, after 40 years of independence, was largely compounded by targeted sanctions from the United States government for nearly half those years.

He called on the latter to “promptly lift these illegal sanctions” without any preconditions.

But, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance President, Nelson Chamisa, said the foundation for Zimbabwe's independence on April 18, 1980, was faulty as it was not inclusive.

“We were promised a good promise by our forebearers, but the national agenda has been abandoned. We need to go back to the national agenda,” said Chamisa in his Independence Day address.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/IOL/GABON2020

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