Former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano who is facilitating Zimbabwe’s second structured dialogue platform meeting on the arrears and debt clearance, says mistrust between Zimbabwe and its development partners is curtailing the process.
Speaking at the conference in Harare yesterday, Chissano called for the management of misconceptions and perceptions around debt clearance process to allow a smooth progression.
“Stakeholders recognized that lack of dialogue is a major stumbling block that must be addressed. The magnitude of this problem was highlighted by a stakeholder who stated that they were talking about Zimbabwe and not with Zimbabwe. The ongoing reform process, embodied in the structured dialogue platform then requires the building of trust between the Government of Zimbabwe and its development partners.
“This is so critical in the current situation, where such trust has been broken due to decades of political mistrust, mutual blame, and quite often acrimonious relationship between the parties. Indeed, many participants expressed their concern about the existence of a deep trust deficit, which calls both parties to step up and address this challenge of their past relationship.
“History is there. But it should not hold the process hostage. It should be set aside and allow for a reengagement process that is anchored in the pursuit of dialogue and building of trust. Such process requires managing perceptions and misconceptions, which quite often have stood on the way of reality, undermining the possibility of a meaningful and substantive engagement. Misconceptions are a reality on both sides and should be addressed for the process to take a smooth course,” said Chissano.
He said stakeholders raised concern over Zimbabwe’s failure to honour agreements, commit and implement decisions.
“Another problem that was raised was the need to address Zimbabwe’s prevailing reputational problem. There is a perception that, in some cases, the Government does not honour agreements and commitments made, as well as implement decisions taken. In this regard, it was underscored that for development partners, issues such as the guaranty of property rights and investment protection agreements are critical, as well as the ability to repatriate profits and macroeconomic stability. Few investments will come to Zimbabwe if these conditions are not met. This perception leads to the deepening of mistrust between the Government and development partners,” he said
