{"id":55053,"date":"2025-07-29T13:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T13:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/zimbabwe-calls-on-south-africa-to-resist-us-sanctions-threats\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T13:13:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T13:13:53","slug":"zimbabwe-calls-on-south-africa-to-resist-us-sanctions-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/zimbabwe-calls-on-south-africa-to-resist-us-sanctions-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe calls on South Africa to resist US sanctions threats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Speaking at the ANC\u2019s 2025 Liberation Movements Summit in Kempton Park, ZANU\u2013PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa said Washington should not \u201cmisdirect itself\u201d in its diplomatic approach to South Africa. <\/p>\n<p>He emphasised that such issues could be resolved without resorting to sanctions, but if the US chooses otherwise, Zimbabwe is prepared, having endured sanctions for over two decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese sanctions have not stopped Zimbabwe\u2019s progress. In fact, we are emerging as one of the most dynamic economies on the continent,\u201d Mutsvangwa told the media. <\/p>\n<p>He highlighted Zimbabwe\u2019s growing steel industry as a symbol of the country\u2019s resilience, adding that even the US might view this development with \u201ca bit of jealousy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The US has had strained relations with Zimbabwe for more than 20 years. Initially imposed in the early 2000s, sanctions targeted former President Robert Mugabe and senior officials over allegations of democratic erosion. <\/p>\n<p>Last year, Washington imposed sanctions on President Emmerson Mnangagwa, accusing him of human rights violations following a contested 2023 election. However, on March 4, 2024, President Joe Biden lifted all US sanctions on Zimbabwe, ending the sanctions program.<\/p>\n<p>Mutsvangwa encouraged South Africa to remain optimistic and not be \u201cpushed around by superpowers,\u201d emphasising shared experiences and resources between the two countries.<\/p>\n<p>The call comes amid the introduction of the US and South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025, proposed by Congressman Ronny Jackson. The bill could sanction ANC leaders accused of supporting US adversaries such as China, Russia, and Iran.<\/p>\n<p>South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the issue during a visit to BMW South Africa, acknowledging the legislative process was ongoing. He expressed hope for continued diplomatic engagement with the US and a positive outcome that would strengthen bilateral relations.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the ANC is appealing to US Democrats, especially those who supported the anti-apartheid movement, to oppose the bill. <\/p>\n<p>ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri stressed that the party will resist any efforts to isolate it through renewed sanctions, recalling the isolation they faced under apartheid-era sanctions backed by some Western countries.<\/p>\n<p>The bill has passed key US House committees and now awaits a full vote in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-91706 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/zimbabwe_new.jpg\" alt=\"Speaking at the ANC\u2019s 2025 Liberation Movements Summit in Kempton Park, ZANU\u2013PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa said Washington should not \u201cmisdirect itself\u201d in its diplomatic approach to South Africa. \" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zimbabwe\u2019s ruling party, ZANU\u2013PF, has urged South Africa not to be intimidated by a proposed US bill that could grant President Donald Trump broad powers to impose sanctions on leaders of the African National Congress (ANC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000091705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000091705,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ramaph-4-dd93d.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ramaph-4-dd93d.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ramaph-4-dd93d.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ramaph-4-dd93d.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ramaph-4-dd93d.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ramaph-4-dd93d.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000091705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55053"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55053"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}