via Mugabe Arrives in New York for UN General Assembly by Gibbs Dube for VOA Zimbabwe 21.09.2013
President Robert Mugabe has arrived in New York for the 68th session of the United Nations general assembly which starts Tuesday.
The president is accompanied by his wife, Grace, and several senior government officials.
Insiders say he is expected to tell the U.N general assembly on Thursday that targeted sanctions imposed by the West on him and his inner circle are hurting ordinary people and efforts to reach Millennium Development Goals.
But Trevor Maisiri of the International Crisis Group said sanctions alone cannot be blamed for Zimbabwe’s failure to meet Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations.
Maisiri said one of the critical issues about MDGs is about the commitment of governments to be able to drive towards those goals.
“One of the questionable issues in Zimbabwe is how committed the government has been in term of meetings Millenium Development Goals. I think that is a critical issue at this moment.
“The second issue is you realize that Millennium Development Goals are supported by economies that are growing because they have something to do with taking in from the economy of a country and developing those particular sectors but Zimbabwe has been stagnant for quite some period and therefore that has affected the Millennium Development Goals,” he said.
Maisiri further noted that it unfair for President Mugabe to link sanctions with MDGs.
“We don’t need to get political mileage out of such a critical issue. I think what the president should do it to analyze all critical sectors and also take responsibility for what Zimbabwe has failed to do rather than throw everything to outside forces.”
The eight Millennium Development Goals – which range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.
Governments, foundations, businesses and civil society groups rallied around the call to action to slash poverty, hunger and disease by 2015, by announcing new commitments to meet the MDGs, at a high-level event at UN Headquarters on September 25, 2008.
COMMENTS
The economic situation in our country can only improve when there is less corruption.
Funny how with full United Nations sanctions against the Rhodesian government and a bush war to fight, the Rhodesian economy flourished and so did the Rhodesian dollar. By making a statement to the UN that sanctions against him and his cronies admits absolute chronic failure.
Why is this man going there,O i forgot more western bashing,from mad bad BOB.
Economically sanctions are affecting the entire Zimbabwe , stupid people who doesn’t understand will always say that these are individual sanctions , remember those individuals at the end of the day they are supposed to go out there and engage with the international community, how are they going to do that with these sanctions ristricting them to travel.
but they visit Zim, this sanction excuse is getting thin now, give us a break bob.
Khabo, what happened to the look east policy? Name one country that has refused exports from Zimbabwe. Bottom line is even if there are sanctions against a country, it is the responsibility of the government of a country to find ways of mitigating the effects. Mugabe has no clue how to manage an economy, period.
Targeted Sanction should be inforced more,they should not be allowed to spend there stolen wealth ,while the povo suffer,plaese update with more names.
Tit for Tat said the President
like a child!! grow up and be a president for all the people and be democratic.
That is all he has done in 33 years – globe trot while people go hungry. The dinosaur is shopping in New York at huge costs to the country while 2.2 million people have no food.
there is no debate that Mugabe has failed, however lets just congratulate the poor old man for his old age doing nothing
operation Murambatsvina was a disaster… Hunger in 2008 was even worse. Dealing with poverty in Zimbabwe is far from over