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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will be in Victoria Falls tomorrow to officially open the 45th Session of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) Administrative Council and Council of Ministers Conference, which is underway in the resort city.

The gathering takes place at a time when many African countries, including Zimbabwe, are embracing intellectual property (IP) as a powerful tool for economic growth.

Experts have stressed the need to formulate and review IP policies in an endeavour to nurture and anchor innovation, competition and value addition.

Recently, the country launched the Zimbabwe National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy (2018-2022), which provides direction on development of IP systems among other enablers. The strategy seeks to spur innovation and creativity in various sectors of the economy.

It also addresses education and funding, identifies priority areas for research, human resource development needs, and the expected products for research initiatives.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabiza yesterday confirmed that President Mnangagwa will officiate at the ARIPO event.

“Zimbabwe is hosting the 45th Session of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) Administrative Council and the 18th Session of the Council Ministers of ARIPO in Victoria Falls. His Excellency, President Mnangagwa is expected to officially open the 45th ARIPO Administrative Council and the 18th Session of the Council Ministers on Thursday,” she said.

“The purpose of these meetings is to harness, promote and protect intellectual property in the region. We have 21 countries, which are ARIPO member States and we were recently joined by Seychelles and Mauritius.”

Mrs Mabiza said the meeting has been categorised into two phases with the administrative council, which started on Monday ending today while the Council of Ministers starts tomorrow up to Friday.

“We are expecting the ministers to have their council responsible for intellectual property in their respective countries on Thursday and Friday. In Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is responsible for intellectual property,” she said.

“What we do is that we continue to encourage countries to practise whatever best practices in terms of intellectual property. As Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, we continue to encourage that we review all our laws to do with intellectual property.”

Mrs Mabiza said Zimbabwe will tomorrow accede to the Kampala Protocol on Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights.

“On Thursday (tomorrow), you shall see Zimbabwe acceding to the Kampala Protocol, which is a voluntary registration of copyright. What it means is that we would want to protect the work of artists,” she said.

“In the past you did not need to register your copyright in the event that you authored a book or any other artistic work. There was no provision for registration but now you can take your work, deposit it with the intellectual property office as an artist or writer or any other creation and that is what the Kampala Protocol is all about.”

Mrs Mabiza said the ARIPO Administrative Council will tomorrow present its recommendations to the Council of Ministers for adoption.

“At the moment I am not in a position to share the issues under discussion, but will be able to do so on Thursday,” she said.

Zimbabwe has taken over as chair of the ARIPO Administrative Council and the Council of Ministers. This was confirmed on Monday after elections were held during the session, said Mrs Mabiza.

The last physical session of the ARIPO Council of Ministers meeting was held in Liberia in 2019. Last year, the 44th Session of Administrative Council was conducted virtually.

ARIPO is an intergovernmental organisation created in 1976 by the Lusaka Agreement concluded under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Membership is open to all African Union (AU) member States and currently there are 21 members which include Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya,

Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. — @mashnets