Harare (New Ziana) -President Emmerson Mnangagwa has once again reaffirmed government commitment to hold peaceful and transparent harmonised elections later this year and international observers will be invited to observe the polls.
President Mnangagwa made the remarks whilst addressing delegates at the high-level arrears clearance and debt resolution conference held in the capital on Monday.
He said the government had so far put in place the requisite mechanisms to guarantee a peaceful and credible election.
The Southern African Development Community, African Union and United Nations observers will be invited once the proclamation has been made, he said.
President Mnangagwa said the engagement and re-engagement drive is beginning to pay off as witnessed by the warm reception given to former Mozambican President Joacquim Chissano and African Development Bank President Dr Akinumi Adesina, the high-level facilitators of Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance and debt resolution process, when they visited the United States recently for deeper bilateral engagements on behalf of Zimbabwe.
He said despite the standoff between Harare and Washington, he was briefed by former President Chissano and Dr Adesina that their engagement with US officials was fruitful, adding that his administration is satisfied with the progress being made.
President Mnangagwa said the arrears clearance and debt resolution process was crucial for the country to unlock new external financing that it requires to achieve its economic development objectives.
“Let me assure all stakeholders of my government’s commitment to the implementation of reforms identified under the three key pillars of this particular process,” he said, adding that Zimbabwe remained grateful for the unwavering support and solidarity it continued to receive from SADC and AU member states.
He paid tribute to development partners and the creditor countries for their patience, open and constructive dialogue which sometimes becomes acrimonious, but at the end they all agreed that it was necessary for the country, to also develop, to modernise like the rest of Africa.
“For this reason and this spirit between us, my door remains open to receive you individually or collectively for scaling up investment and partnerships for shared development, prosperity and higher quality of life for our people, the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano echoed President Mnangagwa’s call for free, fair and credible elections.
He said the crisis in Zimbabwe was negatively impacting the entire region since the country lies at its heart.
Many regional infrastructure development plans including roads, railways and power transmission lines have been brought to a standstill as they cut across Zimbabwe, he said.
“Bringing Zimbabwe back to the family of nations is critical for the country, the region and the continent as a whole,” he said.
“The government underscored this imperative and took the bold decision of seeking re-engagement with the international community through a structured dialogue for arrears clearance and debt resolution process.”
He said productive dialogue remained the only path to re-engagement and to arrears clearance and debt resolution, including rebuilding mutual trust and confidence among all stakeholders.
As the dialogue is pursued further, Chissano said, the government should simultaneously implement commitments contained in the matrices, a process that requires commitment.
Also speaking at the occasion, Dr Adesina urged the government to fast track the compensation of white former commercial farmers who lost their land during the country’s agrarian reform program, saying further delay in paying the compensation would erode trust and confidence in the whole process.
He said the African Development Bank was working closely with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in mobilising the US$3.5 billion needed for the exercise and challenged other development partners to also come on board.
New Ziana
