ED walks the talk on re-engagement
The Government of Zimbabwe has engaged rivals, critics, the intelligentsia, the Diaspora, international institutions and international observers are landing in Zimbabwe by the day. Re-engagement is nothing short of a sign of courageous leadership and for that this Government deserves a chance to see its policies through.
THE New Dispensation brought civility into our politics. It brought respect and, more importantly, it brought dialogue. This dialogue replaced diatribe against the Western powers, diatribe against the opposition and even diatribe against some of our neighbours such as Botswana. President Mnangagwa told a rally in Bulawayo that it took a dialogue of just seven minutes for President Khama, President Lungu and himself to reach a multilateral agreement on Kazungula crossing.
That’s why his Government favours dialogue to solve issues. This is what has been dubbed as re-engagement by the new Zimbabwean Government and has also been made one of the underpinning pillars of the 2018 Zanu-PF manifesto.
Re-engagement has not been a onedimensional effort. The Zanu-PF manifesto has five underpinning principles, that is unity, fighting corruption, re-engage and develop and create jobs . Under re-engagement the issue of national branding is key. The re-engagement policy adopted by the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) has included engaging the opposition parties, civic society, students, the Diasporan community and basically all stakeholder communities in Zimbabwe.
One of the most historic moments in Zimbabwe’s polity was when the Presidential motorcade arrived at the stricken Morgan Tsvangirai’s house to pay him a visit and give offers of both treatment and financial relief. Following this was a dignified repatriation of his body from South Africa and State-funded funeral. This was clearly an olive branch being offered and the first move in re-engaging the opposition.
It’s really tragic that the opposition has snatched at every such branch offered and claimed entitlement. But regardless, the domestic re-engagement effort remains undeterred because at the heart of it is the rebranding of Zimbabwe and the rebuilding of local, regional and international partnerships. And, yes, the opposition are not enemies, they are part of local partners. The only problem is that they don’t know it or see it that way (yet).
Rebranding is all about changing the established look to influence outsider and insider stakeholder perception. The Zanu-PF manifesto recognises how pivotal this is to its effort to change the economic fortunes of our country. This means that how our country is perceived by the rest of the world as important in rebuilding investor confidence. It is quite unfortunate that the opposition has been doing its best to ensure Zimbabwe remains the way it has always been perceived contrary to a level playing field in which they are campaigning unhindered. In fact, isn’t it ironic that during this election season, the only people with a cancelled event were Zanu-PF? So efforts on the domestic front are complemented by a sterling job being done on the international front.
Zimbabwe has had 17 years of international isolation which also caused an equal period of an economic crisis. Others argue that there was also a political crisis during this period.
The international community headed by Great Britain is doing its part to normalise relations with Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is also keen to join the community of nations and has bent over backwards to near breaking point to ensure that its national interests are put above personal egos.
The British government should be applauded for quickly restoring bilateral relations with Zimbabwe and supporting the transition to credible, free and fair elections. Having interfaced with the British at high level, this writer can posit that their attitude has always been that their quarrel was never with the people of Zimbabwe but its then leader, president Robert Mugabe. But we leave that to history. Let’s move forward.
Our country continues to face a lot of challenges. What President Mnangagwa has done is to galvanise the local investor, the foreign investor, the student community and all sections of the Zimbabwean community together with one sole objective of changing the course of our country and turn it around. Everything that anybody can do to bring international business confidence, the Government has done.
The few areas that need to have tangible results out there before the elections are a substantial arrest or conviction. That will be the distinction between rhetoric and reality. So far in everything else there has been action then talk later. This Government as captured in the manifesto of the party of Government is exactly what the doctor ordered for this country.
For the first time the Zimbabwe Government has taken its Diaspora quite seriously and the re-engagement with them has not been superficial like in the past. Whilst in the last government a Diaspora directorate had been set up in the Macro-Economic Ministry and Dr Obert Mpofu had done an exemplary job to develop that, there was no buy-in throughout Government.
The difference between that era and the current one is that every minister that has gone into a foreign country where there is a body of Zimbabweans has engaged them. The President has led this thrust by also meeting the Diasporan community wherever he has gone including the Middle East.
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