Harare – The Commonwealth is eagerly awaiting the successful validation of Zimbabwe’s application to re-join the grouping amid indications that the secretary general, Patricia Scotland, is keenly interested in seeing this through, a senior official said on Monday.
After withdrawing its membership from the grouping in the early 2000s when disagreements emerged between Harare and London over the land reform programme, Zimbabwe applied to re-join the Commonwealth in 2018 as part of the Second Republic’s engagement and re-engagement agenda.
Since then, the Commonwealth secretariat has been regularly assessing the country’s suitability to re-join, and currently, a team from the group is in Harare for an assessment mission.
Head of delegation, Professor Luis Franceschi described Zimbabwe’s relationship with the Commonwealth as that of parts of the same body.
“Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth are two parts of the same body and this is why the Commonwealth and also the secretary general has been so interested in Zimbabwe coming back to the family,” he said at a meeting of his team and government officials from various government Ministries.
“We are here as colleagues, friends, not on an opposite side but we are on the same side walking with Zimbabwe hand in hand to see how we can get this process to a fruitful conclusion that I think the whole world and the whole Commonwealth would like to see.”
Franceschi applauded Zimbabwe’s pursuit of re-admission into the Commonwealth, highlighting that it was a decision that the grouping did not take for granted, and with the understanding that no country in the Commonwealth or the world was perfect.
“Zimbabwe has approached this matter of coming back to the family with wisdom. At worst it should not be guided by instinct, and by emotions and I would encourage everyone in Zimbabwe to treat this matter in the same spirit.
“It (coming back into the Commonwealth) is not political, coming or not coming back is not a success or failure of any political party, or political side but is something that is being pursued and we perceive this, as the commonwealth, as something that is best for the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“There is no perfect country in the world, we are aware of that. There is no perfect country in the Commonwealth, there is no perfect nation. The Commonwealth represents a group of countries that are trying to do the right thing for their people.”
Speaking at the same occassion, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Frederick Shava said Zimbabwe’s wish to re-join the Commonwealth was premised on its desire to play a meaningful role in the community of nations, open new frontiers of growth and development, and rekindle relationships with erstwhile friends.
He said since the last Commonwealth assessment mission in July 2019, the government had made significant strides to try and meet the five expectations that are critical to the country’s re-admission.
“This reform agenda was initiated by the government to, first and foremost, improve the lives and livelihoods of the Zimbabwean citizens in line with our vision of achieving an upper-middle income society by 2030. Vision 2030 prioritises the reorientation of the country towards democratisation; respect for human and property rights; freedom of expression and association; the rule of law as well as addressing economic challenges.
“In that regard, under our National Development Strategy 1, for the period 2021 to 2025, the government is striving to build on the successes of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme to ensure macro-economic stability and growth,” he said.
“Notable achievements have also been witnessed since the inception of the political dialogue, notably the acceptance and endorsement of POLAD by the Southern Africa Development Community, the African Union and the United Nations, as a worthwhile and timely intervention in promoting peace, unity, social cohesion and dialogue. Further, POLAD has played an active role in promoting economic, social and governance issues at national level.
“To date, the government has made tremendous strides in enhancing civil and political rights of its citizens. There has been tremendous progress in the alignment of laws to the Constitution. Suffice to note that statutes that relate to human rights are being given priority in this process. Regarding the amendment of the Electoral Act, consultations are being held and most of the recommendations from the Electoral Observation Mission have been incorporated.”
Shava added; “It is, therefore, Zimbabwe’s hope that our interest to re-join the Commonwealth will be considered on its merits, taking into consideration the tremendous progress that has been achieved to date.”
The assessment mission is in the country for a week and it started with the meeting with government Ministers, who were led by Shava and included Ministers of Justice, Home Affairs, Public Service, Finance and Information.
It is also later expected to meet the media, and other stakeholders on matters of interest to the organisation.
– New Ziana
