LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
The Government of Zimbabwe’s re-engagement drive with the western countries is in jeopardy, largely due to delays in compensating former commercial white farmers who lost their land during the land reform programme more than 20 years ago.
Since 2018, the government has been trying to engage the western countries.
But, there has been little success.
Two years ago, the government tabled a US$3.5bn deal to compensate former commercial white farmers.
But, the administration defaulted twice on the initial US$1.75bn payment.
The move was expected to thaw frosty relations between Harare and western countries.
“Zimbabwe set reforms, compensation and restoration of property rights as the centrepiece of its re-engagement process.
“The major western powers and international financial institutions increasingly called on the administration to return to the rule of law — a euphemism for compensating or returning seized properties to former owners, 2 600 of them for 4 000 farms — as one of the conditions it must fulfil before support is extended,” a well-placed source told Business Times.
“But the delays to honour show Harare is not yet ready for the re-engagement.”
Contacted for a comment, the deputy minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, David Musabayana told Business Times that the government will re-engage at its pace.
“We are the ones who set up the engagement or re-engagement pace and there is no nation that can prescribe to us on how to engage and who to engage with and set conditions for engagement,” Musabayana said.
“The reason why we are engaging is to come to the table with other nations we had never engaged before so that way there is a prescription on what to do and what not to do.”
He added: “There are so many people who are involved in these processes and some will say what they want but it does not mean that they give us directions on how we proceed.”
It comes at a time when President Emmerson Mnangagwa is pushing to return to the Commonwealth.
Mnangagwa has since 2018 been dispatching senior government officials all over the world to re-engage with the international community.
But, this did not yield the desired results after the international community demanded that Zimbabwe fulfils a number of obligations such as the protection and promotion of the fundamental political values of the country, democratic processes and institutions, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, just and honest government, among many other demands.
“Zimbabwe’s re-engagement drive is not going on as expected as the country is more into a fire-fighting approach rather than true reforms on the ground, ” an analyst told this publication.
The analyst said recent threats by the government to constrain the space for civil society strongly signal to donors and development partners show the regime’s intentions to proceed on a path of despotism.
Another analyst said the situation was worsened by policy inconsistencies.
But Musabayana said the investments coming into the country showed that the re-engagement had begun to yield results.
“The Americans themselves are warming up to our re-engagement and engagement and that’s why various programmes are being funded outside especially the Batoka power project and John Deere tractors facility.
“This shows that the re-engagement and engagement efforts are bearing fruit as all corners are responding positively to our calls,” Musabayana said.
