By Nobleman Runyanga
The 74th session of the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) is currently under way in New York in the United States of America (USA) and Zimbabweans at home and abroad are rubbing their hands in expectation. They are anticipating President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s second address to the UNGA tomorrow.
Yes, the country is going through a rough patch economically but Zimbabweans are not without hope. The people had lost hope during the last two decades of President Mnangagwa’s predecessor, the late Robert Mugabe’s tenure but the new administration re-kindled a sense of optimism among citizens.
The President has spelt out his vision for the country and how he intends to shepherd the country in that direction. He has spelt out what his administration has done so far but UNGA presents Zimbabweans with an opportunity to hear the President tell the world his subjects’ anxieties, challenges and concerns. They are expecting him to spell out how his Government intends to transform the country from the ongoing challenges to prosperity which would improve the quality of citizens’ lives.
Top of the issues that Zimbabweans are expecting President Mnangagwa to talk about as he takes the UNGA podium are the debilitating sanctions which global bullies in the form of the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) have imposed on Zimbabwe. They anticipate him to articulate to the world how the punitive measures have reduced the beautiful and richly resourced country to strugglers owing to the barring of the country from accessing lines of credit and global markets for some of its produce.
They are expecting him to expose how the American government is strangling industrial growth in Zimbabwe by confiscating any export revenue meant for parastatals such as the Industrial Development Corporation Zimbabwe Limited (IDCZ) through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) which enforces the sanction law, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act.
Climate change is very high on the UNGA agenda and has a concurrent conference on the programme to discuss issues affecting different parts of the world. Zimbabweans expect the President to tell the world of some unfair practices of global industrial giants like America whose emissions are causing catastrophic climate change effects such as droughts and cyclones in Africa with Cyclone Idai, which killed over a thousand people and affected over 2.2 million people in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe in March this year, readily coming to mind.
The people of Zimbabwe are expecting President Mnangagwa to point out the unfairness of developed countries forcing developing nations to ratify protocols on emissions when they, themselves do not. They expect him to convey Zimbabweans’ gratitude for all the assistance received during the aftermath of the destructive cyclone but stress the need for such Western donor countries to reduce their emissions and help countries like Zimbabwe to capacitate themselves in disaster management instead of waiting for disasters which, originate from their countries’ emission, to occur before rushing in with aid.
The President is also expected to update the world of the strides that his administration is making to enable Zimbabwe to fully realise her potential as a premier investment destination in Southern Africa. This will obviously include the removal of the prohibitive indigenisation law, whose 51/49 ownership requirement in favour of locals, made the country very unattractive to global investors despite its educated manpower and abundant mineral and other resources.
Zimbabweans also expect that the President will use the UNGA opportunity and moment to spell out other ease of doing business initiatives such as the enactment of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority (ZIDA) which will replace the Special Economic Zones Act and the Zimbabwe Investment Authority Act as Government moves to consolidate all investment laws and initiatives into a world class one stop shop. Zimbabweans at home and abroad are expecting the President to invite potential investors to come to Zimbabwe.
One of the deterrents to would be investors in Zimbabwe under the previous administration was the scourge of corruption. The President is therefore anticipated to update the world on the measures taken so far to deal with the vice. These will include the re-constitution of the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission (ZACC) including inviting members of the public to nominate commissioners through the Parliament of Zimbabwe in line with the constitution.
Other measures include the use of lifestyle audits such as the ones being conducted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) to deal with the cancer of corruption in Government ministries, departments and parastatals.
Zimbabwe is a tourism jewel. President Emmerson Mnangagwa is, therefore, expected to talk about Zimbabwe’s various tourism attractions and even investment opportunities in that sector before inviting delegates to visit the country to sample the country’s awesome and unique hospitality.
UNGA presents the President and Zimbabwe’s finest moment on the global stage. As he takes to the podium, the President carries on his shoulders the whole country’s aspirations, anxieties and disappointments with some members of the global community.
He carries Zimbabweans’ hopes for full re-integration within the global community of nations on the basis of mutual respect. He also carries the people’s anticipation for fair treatment by global powers so that Zimbabwe is not unfairly demonised for alleged human rights abuses when they (global bullies) are the major abusers of human rights across the globe.
