EDITORIAL COMMENT: Commonwealth membership to benefit Zimbabweans President Mnangagwa greets the Zanu-PF party Bulawayo Provincial chairperson Cde Dr Callistus Ndlovu while Vice President Kembo Mohadi and deputy Minister for Industry and Commerce Cde Raj Modi look on on his arrival at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo yesterday.

ZIMBABWE’s imminent return to the Commonwealth is a huge step towards reintegrating into the family of nations and shedding the pariah status the country had gained in the last two decades of former President Robert Mugabe’s reign.

It is also an acknowledgement of the immense progress the country has taken since events of November last year when Operation Restore Legacy was successfully executed and the birth of the Second Republic on July 30 when President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF romped to victory in the harmonised elections.

Granted, there is still a lot of work to be done for the country to be readmitted into the club of mainly former British colonies but most of the groundwork has been done and with the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled for Rwanda in 2020, Zimbabwe has ample time to implement some of the requirements for membership of the organisation.

There are many advantages to membership of the Commonwealth chief among which is a huge market of more than 2,4 billion people across countries that make up the club among them advanced economies and developing countries. Members assist each other to strengthen governance, build inclusive institutions and promote justice and human rights.

The Commonwealth also helps to grow economies and boost trade, empower young people, and address threats such as climate change, debt and inequality.
Citizens of member countries are provided with training and technical assistance while decision-makers such as Members of Parliament are assisted with drawing up legislation and delivering policies.

The organisation also deploys experts and observers who offer impartial advice and solutions to national problems. In the area of Information Communication Technology, the Commonwealth provides systems, software and research for managing resources, leveraging on members with advanced economies. At Commonwealth summits, government leaders converge to make decisions that have an enduring impact on all citizens.

By uniting member countries in this way, the club helps to amplify their voices and achieve collective action on global challenges. Before withdrawing from the Commonwealth at the height of its diplomatic stand-off with Britain in December 2003, Zimbabweans enjoyed some of the benefits of membership including access to scholarship and study opportunities overseas, capacity building through the work of a network of more than 80 inter-governmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations of the Commonwealth and a huge market for the country’s products. Now that it is taking steps to rejoin the organisation, its citizens will benefit immensely from membership to an organisation that commands a lot of respect among the global family of nations.

The move will also signal a solidification of relations with Britain whose monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of the Commonwealth. This week, President Mnangagwa met the organisation’s secretary general Ambassador Patricia Scotland on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to work on modalities for readmission.

Speaking to journalists after her final departure call on Acting President Kembo Mohadi at his Munhumutapa Offices in Harare on Thursday, outgoing British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Catriona Laing confirmed the meeting, adding that the United Kingdom was supportive of Harare re-joining the international organisation.

“I understand the President had a meeting with Honourable (Patricia) Scotland (Commonwealth secretary general) in New York. That process as I understand it, has started but it wouldn’t formally conclude until the next Commonwealth Summit, which will be in Rwanda in 2020. We are very supportive of Zimbabwe re-joining the Commonwealth.

“There is a process to follow. It’s not automatic. It involves ensuring that the Harare Declaration, which was signed here in early 1990s is enacted and that means issues like free and fair elections, an independent judiciary and respect for the rule of law that are very helpful for Zimbabwe to have that confidence because it will be able to demonstrate to the world that it is transparently meeting that criteria.”

Ambassador Laing said London was encouraged by improvements in Zimbabwe’s electoral processes although she said they were concerned about the tragic events of August 1 when six people were killed after violent protests by members of the opposition. She said the UK would be following closely the work of the Commission of Inquiry set up by President Mnangagwa to investigate the matter.

We are also encouraged by the positive steps that have been taken to ensure Zimbabwe rejoins the Commonwealth and are confident this will happen at the next CHOGM in Kigali. President Mnangagwa has demonstrated beyond doubt that he is committed to national cohesion and healing in the aftermath of the July elections and has been reaching out to the main opposition MDC Alliance in this regard.

He is in the process of creating an Office of the Opposition Leader in the House of Assembly in line with Commonwealth best practices. Government is currently setting up legislative frameworks that allow for this process.

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