Zimbabwe ministerial retreat a critical step

The on-going Zimbabwe Ministerial retreat conference in Victoria Falls is an important step in trying to create a normal environment for Economic recovery. It is important to note that this was facilitated by the World Bank. Whilst the people are understandably angry about a gathering at a major tourist attraction area this is a gathering which forms part of the national healing process and creating a national unity of purpose sense. The politicians have to lead by example of being tolerant to each other and it is when people see such gatherings that they will believe MDC and ZANU-PF can really sit together without being forced by Mr Thabo Mbeki or Mr Ian Khama and discuss how they want to re-build their country and ensure that the Zimbabwe Economy recovers.

The Zimbabwean leaders by meeting without the presence of foreign leaders or being arm-twisted are showing that its indeed possible for Zimbabweans to develop a Zimbabwean solution to the Zimbabwean problem. The foreigners and neighbors have played their role. Now is time for Zimbabweans to engage each other and start confidence building measures which will ultimately result in a normal society and economic prosperity.

The healing and Economic recovery process is a sensitive process. The gathering of leaders who are co-operating sends an important signal to the business and investment community. This is why even though the world is going through the worst financial crisis leaders of the 20 leading economies invested in time and resources to gather in London to map the way forward. Even though it was just a talk shop the financial markets responded positively after a communiqué was issued from the summit. Summits have the impact of setting the tone and direction of future trends and by merely hosting them it acknowledges there is a serious problem ,which has been identified and is going to be solved. This is what all financial markets need and this will filter into the business community to start investing again or at least to stop down scaling.

The whole GNU minister lineup have to be sensitive to the suffering around them and have to distance themselves from what may appear to be wasteful expenditure and lavish lifestyle to salvage any credibility. What is clear is that there is a lack of communication between the citizens and those entrusted in solving the national problems. As Zimbabwe prepares to craft a new constitution one hopes that the communication and public awareness campaign will be more rigorous and people centered

The Ministerial retreat is an absolute necessity given the challenges which need a proper plan and team work for Zimbabwe’s Economy to recover. However the people have not been properly educated and informed about the need and benefits of the retreat and other similar functions.

It will be very difficult to measure the exact benefits of this particular retreat but in the practical world such meetings and gatherings are necessary as they create a common understanding that there is a national vision or attempts to set up one. From gatherings like this investors and other stake holders have an opportunity to read the “body” language from the politicians to see if they are really committed to the idea of a Unity Government and Zimbabwe‘s Economic recovery agenda.

This event could easily have sent the wrong signal to the International Community if one of the major participants had turned it down. The mere presence of all the major players in the GNU sets a stage for encouraging those skeptical and doubtful that indeed Zimbabweans have stopped fighting or are about to start behaving maturely with national interests at heart. This can in the long run persuade the International community to serious start supporting these efforts. Obviously the GNU is imperfect and undesirable but it has presented a rare opportunity of stopping Zimbabwe from developing it a totally failed state. And for this reason there is need to encourage and highlight positive and progressive developments which assist in creating a conducive environment for Economic recovery.

The people have a right to ask and the politicians an obligation to answer and be accountable. This is how strong nations are built on the basis of accountability to the people. Given the widespread allegations of corruption and abuse of state resources the people are within their rights to query anything that may slightly appear to be replicating the previous Administration. Politicians need not be offended by this but rather take it as an opportunity to meaningfully engage the public on how a Government functions and how various policies are formulated.

Once politicians start talking and gathering the nation becomes hopeful that a new era is upon us. Obviously those who still carry scares from the immediate past history begin to expect a day in which a Truth and Reconciliation Commission can be set up to finally close a sad chapter. Hosting the retreat is a good starting point showing Zimbabweans can sit and discuss national issues despite clear differences. This can then be summed up by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission by Zimbabweans and for Zimbabweans.A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government, in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. It allows the nation to formally get a new beginning which is what Zimbabwe is working towards .


Gilbert Muponda is the CEO and Founder of GMRI Capital . He can be reached at email ; gilbert@gilbertmuponda.com
Skype ; gilbert.Muponda
Web ; www.gmricapital.com