Opinion / Columnist
Theresa May lays clear conditions for Mnangagwa to access her £4billion pledge
29 Aug 2018 at 08:34hrs | Views
In her Cape Town speech, the UK Prime Minister made clear her conditions for African countries that can potentially benefit from her government's "additional £4 billion programme of UK investment". The conditions have become timely for Mnangagwa's term because they will set an important tone for the Zimbabwe-UK relationship in the next five years. If Mnangagwa would be a listening president as he promised, the Cape Town speech should be his guiding template to position Zimbabwe on the pole with Britain as it leaves the European Union in March 2019.
This time the UK is talking "radical" in its intentions to invest in Africa. But they still have the 'Western Chant' of conditions. They are desperate for new alliances but still their investments will not set up base where there is chaos and tyranny. Ambassador Catriona Liang has already prescribed that deaths of innocent civilians and allegations of the army brutality should be genuinely investigated. Talk is not enough and excuses won't help either.
Mnangagwa needs to inspire confidence that he is in charge. His ascendance to power and failure to condemn security sector brutality has not convinced many that he is in the executive seat as the Commander In Chief of the army. Some have even raised serious questions to whether there are factions in the army and some which are not even respecting his sovereign authority.
Britain regards its sensitivity to fragility and respect for human rights as a quality that guarantees its partners long term investment and distinguishes it with other partnerships that are inconsiderate of dignities of ordinary people in Africa.
The basic changes that Mnangagwa can start with to harness these long-term investment opportunities can include realigning our laws especially electoral law to align with the new constitution. This is a promise that he had for us ever since he was the Justice minister. An independent Electoral Commission, auditable electoral processes and respect of voters' rights is a self-rescue exercise that can lay good foundation to his slogan that Zimbabwe is open for business.
Mnangagwa's new government should note that these are not the 'Western imposed conditions'. These are cries of the everyday person in the country. People are more engaged, creative and willing to contribute freely if they can freely express themselves without fear and freely choose who lead them. Above all, people are willing to stay in their own country if the president is in charge, calls a wrong a wrong and with the sovereignty to defend his own people.
This time the UK is talking "radical" in its intentions to invest in Africa. But they still have the 'Western Chant' of conditions. They are desperate for new alliances but still their investments will not set up base where there is chaos and tyranny. Ambassador Catriona Liang has already prescribed that deaths of innocent civilians and allegations of the army brutality should be genuinely investigated. Talk is not enough and excuses won't help either.
Mnangagwa needs to inspire confidence that he is in charge. His ascendance to power and failure to condemn security sector brutality has not convinced many that he is in the executive seat as the Commander In Chief of the army. Some have even raised serious questions to whether there are factions in the army and some which are not even respecting his sovereign authority.
The basic changes that Mnangagwa can start with to harness these long-term investment opportunities can include realigning our laws especially electoral law to align with the new constitution. This is a promise that he had for us ever since he was the Justice minister. An independent Electoral Commission, auditable electoral processes and respect of voters' rights is a self-rescue exercise that can lay good foundation to his slogan that Zimbabwe is open for business.
Mnangagwa's new government should note that these are not the 'Western imposed conditions'. These are cries of the everyday person in the country. People are more engaged, creative and willing to contribute freely if they can freely express themselves without fear and freely choose who lead them. Above all, people are willing to stay in their own country if the president is in charge, calls a wrong a wrong and with the sovereignty to defend his own people.
Source - Fungayi Mukosera
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