While at the United Nations General Assembly, I met Mister (Andrew) Mitchell, the British Minister for Africa. This was one more such meeting in a series. In that meeting, we both agreed we needed to normalise our bilateral relations, and to scale them up so both Zimbabwe and Britain can make up for the lost decades during our costly diplomatic standoff. The coming of the new British ambassador so soon after our meeting in New York, and quite soon after his predecessor had left, bodes well for our relations, and shows a seriousness of intent to restore our relations to normalcy.
Our recent harmonised elections, which were peaceful, democratic, free, fair and transparent, continue to send positive signals in both diplomatic and business markets around the globe. We need to harness this emerging goodwill to secure our readmission into the Commonwealth and for arrears clearance and debt resolution.
It would be remiss of me not to mention and acknowledge Zimbabweans living in the UK, who were part of the group of investors I met from that country. As in the United States and elsewhere, there is a growing realisation by Zimbabweans in the diaspora that Zimbabwe, their home, presents enormous opportunities for them and foreigners alike.
There is a readiness on their part to come back home to invest and to contribute. Our investment policies must, thus, continue to make this not just possible, but rewarding.
There is a whole raft of incentives we can and should develop, which are tailor-made especially for them. They are, after all, our nationals who are returning home. They deserve our utmost welcome as they seek to repatriate skills, share their experience and commit their hard-earned capital to Zimbabwe.
The second development was again mooted on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa intimated that he would visit the Musina Border upon his return from UNGA. South Africa, he added, planned to revamp and upgrade its border facilities and services at this crucial port of entry which we share, and itself the busiest port on the African continent.
This our neighbour hopes to do by creating a Border Management Authority, BMA, under which all port services are housed and operated in an integrated fashion for more efficiency. Together, we are working towards establishing a one-stop border post, OSBP, in line with the goals and spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.
In that meeting, I then suggested we both meet at the port, so together we could tour the port of entry from both borders. He graciously agreed, leading to the successful joint tour we had last Thursday. The purpose of that joint tour was to ensure we lay the infrastructural basis for seamless port operations to promote efficient movement of people, goods and services. This critical goal rides on our excellent historical and bilateral relations, and on our ever strengthening trade and investment ties.
South Africa is much more than a neighbour; it is Zimbabwe’s largest trading partner, numerous people-to-people social and cultural affinities quite apart. We are also her gateway to and from the North, making our bilateral relations comprehensive and strategic. Against this important consideration, our infrastructures have been lagging behind the ever-growing demand, and were not quite talking to each other by way of operating systems and procedures.
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