Investors to get chance to question unity government

The Harare Celebration Centre in Borrowdale is the venue for the conference which, according to Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma, will attract all sectors of the economy and the three main political parties – ZANU PF and the two MDC formations.

Mangoma on Tuesday told Newsreel the conference will focus on investment opportunities in mining, agriculture, infrastructure development and tourism. Although a press release from the MDC had not mentioned investment opportunities in the media, he told us that those wanting to invest in the media were welcome. Mangoma said the three main political parties will be answering questions from investors about the unity government. They will also be explaining, the countrys investment policies to local and foreign potential investors, he said.

The big challenge for the conference however is how to lure investors when there are still several outstanding issues dogging the coalition. Only last week MDC ministers boycotted a cabinet meeting brought forward from Tuesday to Monday to accommodate Mugabes trip to Libya. Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe said this was an attempt to stop Tsvangirai chairing cabinet in Mugabes absence. She said as a party they had a right to disengage from the coalition if they felt ZANU PF was not respecting them as equal partners. But a day later, Tsvangirai poured cold water on the threats to quit the coalition, branding it an expression of frustration from his party.

Issues such as the unilateral appointment of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana by Mugabe remain outstanding. The MDC referred the issues to SADC, but as yet no summit has been called to deal with them. The programme shows that the morning session will deal with how the three principals Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara are working together. The outstanding issues will also be explained at the conference in a bid to allay investor fears.

Another key obstacle for the coalition government is the issue of fundamental political reforms. On Tsvangirais maiden international tour as Prime Minister most western governments emphasized the need for tangible reforms before they could commit money to fund the recovery programme. The shadow of serious concern over property rights, given ongoing farm invasions and disturbances, will also mean Thursdays conference has its work cut out. Mangoma told us they could not deny the land violations that continue to take place, but what was needed was to compensate those who had been dispossessed of their farm land.

Outgoing US ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee summarized his governments position by rejecting the notion that money was needed to achieve reforms. It doesnt cost anything to start enforcing property rights or to have judges apply the law equally. Dropping phantom, politically motivated prosecutions is free. Stopping the arrests of political activists and independent journalists is also free. Licensing new private media and allowing international journalists to practice openly in Zimbabwe might even generate revenue. These are the kinds of steps we need to see to expand our commitment to Zimbabwe.