Mugabe blames Western sanctions for economic crisis

ZIMBABWE’S President Robert Mugabe yesterday blamed Western sanctions for his country’s economic collapse, which has left millions of people jobless and hungry.

Speaking on the final day of the 12th African Union summit in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Mugabe said European and US sanctions had crippled the economy and fuelled unrest.

“We believe that these illegal sanctions are not only unjustified and cruel, but they have also contributed deeply to the suffering and the poverty-induced polarisation of the people of Zimbabwe.”