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Tichaona Zindoga, Harare Bureau
The ruling Zanu-PF party enjoys fraternal relations with fellow liberation movements in the region and abroad.

In the Southern African region (Sadc) Zanu-PF enjoys good relations with South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), Mozambique’s Frelimo, Namibia’s Swapo and Angola’s MPLA.

Zanu-PF is also friends with Tanzania’s Chama Chama Pinduzi, Zambia’s Patriotic Front, Botswana’s Democratic Party, among major sister organisations on the continent.

Zanu-PF has also cultivated relations with countries in North Africa such as Libya, Algeria and Egypt while overseas relations were made with countries such as China, Russia, Cuba, Romania, Korea and so on.

These relations, stemming largely from the liberation war, became the basis for geopolitical and economic interactions in the post-independence era in the Republic called Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is a member of regional and global multilateral organisations such as Sadc, Comesa, African Union, Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations.

Zanu-PF has branches or representations across the diaspora mainly in South Africa, Britain and the United States of America.

Zimbabwe has fallen out with Western countries that have imposed sanctions since 2000 but these strained relations can be located in history.

The West is the originator of slavery and colonialism. Zimbabwe and Africa got liberated from slavery and colonialism by fighting Western imperialists alongside African and other non-western friendly countries.

The liberation history key and remains a key tie that binds Zimbabwe and its friendly abroad.

The relations have changed little save for evolving with globalisation.

The ruling Zanu-PF’s relationship with the world has shaped its international relations.
Engage, re-engage…

As the 17th National People’s Conference takes place next week, we are likely to be treated to the solidarity messages from sister organisations from the region and abroad.

And, yes, that includes also the American December 12 Movement!

Under its new President and First Secretary, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zanu-PF has maintained its relations with the traditional friends in the region and beyond.

However, President Mnangagwa has sought to broaden the approach by actively seeking Zimbabwe’s reengagement with the world, which has taken greater spirit under his watch.

Zimbabwe (led by Zanu-PF) will no longer be a pariah state.

Zimbabwe will seek to mend broken relations with such countries as Britain and America which punished the party and country, alienating the cadres and officials.

The earliest sign has been Zimbabwe’s willingness to rejoin the Commonwealth, an organisation it ditched in 2003 amid geopolitical stress.

Now, President Mnangagwa is looking forward to guiding the party and government out of pariah status.
It is a strategy that will be useful for Zimbabwe and the ruling party.

The ostracisation of Zimbabwe has been costly and worn out the ruling party while giving it a bad name at abroad.

That President Mnangagwa is willing to reengage the world, and is actively pursuing the goals represents a significant shift from yesteryear.

Zimbabwe is open for business, and dialogue

When President Mnangagwa became leader last year, his signature line in engaging and reengaging the world was that “Zimbabwe is open for business”.

This mantra opened new flanks to the extent that under his leadership, the ruling party and Government were willing to transact with the world.

This by way of economics would see the country being open to deals that can benefit the country, after the long night of isolation.

Zimbabwe was also willing to compromise, as indeed it did by reviewing its investment laws such as the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act incorporating the 51-49 clause that stipulated that foreign investors needed to cede majority equity to locals.

President Mnangagwa has been described as a business-savvy leader and the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra clearly sold this to the world. Zimbabwe had just entered the world of realpolitik.

Realpolitik is defined as a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.

The practical considerations that the Zanu-PF of President Mnangagwa is concerned with are lifting the country from poverty and isolation and this has been the cornerstone of his engagement with the world since he came in.

It works alongside the other reforms that are being instituted by the party – organisationally and philosophically.

In recent times, the mantra that “Zimbabwe is open for business” has been fortified by an addition of dialogue. So, it now reads “Zimbabwe is open for business and dialogue”.

That is how Zanu-PF is changing to embrace the world.

This conference will receive a report on this new trajectory and discuss how the party and Government ought to relate to the outside world in President Mnangagwa’s Second Republic.