Visiting head of state of Zimbabwe Emerson Mnangagwa used his state visit to Botswana to express his appreciation and acknowledgement of the unflinching support received from Botswana and other SADC countries during the transition heralding the resignation of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
He also committed to holding elections timeously as prescribed by constitution.
“My Government is committed to maintaining the prevailing peace as well as to consolidating democracy. In this respect, Zimbabwe will hold elections by July 2018, as prescribed by our Constitution. Preparations for the elections have been going on smoothly, with more than 5 million eligible voters, already registered by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC),” said Mnangagwa.
He said, “My administration is working hard to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in order to revive and grow the economy. In that regard, we have been working on improving the investment climate in the country. We have amended the Indigenization and Empowerment Act, which now limits the 51/49% shareholding structure to only two minerals, that is, platinum and diamonds. My administration is also improving the ease of doing Business as instanced by the reduction in the time required to register companies and by the guaranteed repatriation of profits by investors.”
Mnangagwa expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the hospitality extended to Zimbabweans in Botswana saying it was consistent with the Botho principle in African culture to open doors to fellow Africans in times of need.
Zimbabwe and Botswana are active members of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, a platform that affords both Parliaments the opportunity to play a meaningful role in promoting regional integration, good governance, peace and security.
“That has been done through the Parliamentary Forum’s Standing Committee’s, election observation and the development of model laws. The first being the Model Law on eradicating Child Marriages and protecting Children already in marriage, which was adopted at the 39th SADC Parliamentary Forum’s Plenary Assembly in June 2016. I was honoured to be the one to launch the Model Law at the 40th Plenary Assembly in Zimbabwe, on the 12th November 2016,” said Mnangagwa.
He said, “The Model Law is instrumental in assisting member states harmonize their national laws to prevent child marriages, in support of the African Union Campaign to end Child Marriages in a generation. “Mnangagwa expressed support for the Saharawi’s peoples right to self determination as a sovereign nation and the right of the Palestinian people to live in their own sovereign space and not under occupation.
He chastized the scourge of terrorism, racism as well as xenophobia as a blight on the conscious of humankind.
