Following President Robert Mugabe’s ouster and replacement with his one-time deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in an event considered to be the most significant development in the Southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980, January 2018 was a significant month for Zimbabwe. After taking care of immediate housekeeping issues in December, January was the month in which President Mnangagwa and his administration started re-engagement efforts with the international community in earnest, in line with the new mantra, “Zimbabwe is Open for Business.”
On 10 January 2018 the permanent under-secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Simon McDonald met with Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo, and tweeted afterwards. “Good discussion with Foreign Minister Moyo about reintegrating Zimbabwe into international community and normalising relationship with UK – new dispensation, new possibilities’. Britain has hinted at supporting efforts to stabilise Zimbabwe’s currency system and providing a bridging loan to help the country clear its arrears with international lenders, on condition that Zimbabwe shows “democratic progress”.
More significantly, President Emmerson Mnangagwa marked his first appearance at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland which was held during the period 23 – 26 January 2018. As the first major global economic conference Mnangagwa attended as President, the WEF was seen as an opportunity for him to present Zimbabwe’s investment case to the world and rebuild Zimbabwe’s bruised and battered international image. More importantly, the Davos invitation was a sign that the West is slowly warming up to Harare’s Administration. On the sidelines of Davos Mnangagwa met top officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). In recognition of the new administration’s efforts to reintegrate Zimbabwe into the international community, the theme of the January edition of the MFSB is “International Re-engagement Agenda Back on Track.” Below is what some of the movers and shakers from of the Western world have said recently about Zimbabwe’s near term prospects. It’s cautious optimism across the board.
“I am very pleased that my first overseas trip as minister has been to Zimbabwe. The historic events the country has experienced over the last few months have created an opportunity to strengthen UK-Zimbabwean relations as part of a wider process of international engagement…I have seen for myself that Zimbabwe is a country of enormous potential,’ – British Minister for Africa Harriet Baldwin.
“The [dramatic political – Ed] changes were welcomed, most importantly by Zimbabweans themselves. We think that the new president Emmerson Mnangagwa has made a good start in trying to set Zimbabwe back onto a positive trajectory. It’s still early days. Everyone has their eye on the elections later this year. They’ll have 
to be credible and transparent and free from intimidation for Zimbabwe to be fully welcomed back into the international community. But these first steps look positive. The president has been clear that jobs are going to be his top priority. He knows that will need substantial investment, both domestic and foreign and that will require a serious reform agenda. That will include stabilising the economy and sorting out the currency, reforming the public sector, robust protections for investors, making it easier to do business here, and clearer guarantees on land and resolving the compensations issues. It’s an immensely challenging reform agenda that will take time and determination. No-one should expect an overnight cure to decades of economic decline.” – British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Catriona Laing.
“Essentially, it is about confidence in my view, so confidence that Zimbabwe is a country that we can confidently invest in. Investors can feel confident and they can put their money. So there is need for confidence, certainty and the rule of law. Australia and other nations have identified the 2018 elections as an important point in terms of seeing if the rubber has hit the road, to use an Australian term. To see if talk of the new government has turned into action now that the President has said there will be free and fair elections. But we need to see that in practice.” – Outgoing Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Suzanne McCourt.
“Since November, we at the embassy have seen an increase in the number of Canadian companies who are looking for advice on whether or not they can come back. So I would say there is renewed interest in Zimbabwe as an economic destination but, as I said, the full package of economic and political reforms that we have been talking about is important to Canadian companies as well.” – Canadian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Rene Cremonese.
The question which most people are asking is: Will this new dispensation lead to new money? The truth is that in the short-term, we may mobilise funds mainly in relation to the electoral process and related areas such as con
stitutional alignment, judicial issues and reforms. However, there will not be significant new funding coming in until you have credible elections. If elections are credible and Government engages international financial institutions such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, manages to clear arrears and agrees on an extended credit facility with the IMF, then we may consider additional funding to accompany that reform process. Part of the money that may come in future may come through the African Union-EU agreement; that is of 4.4 billion euro. That money will have a multiplier effect and lead to blending initiatives for infrastructure in Africa, lead to risk reduction and investment. The public sector cannot access these funds before agreeing on the reform package.” – Jean-Claude Van Damme, Head of EU Delegation to Zimbabwe
“In this context, the EU will support the authorities in establishing as soon as possible a constructive re-engagement with international financial institutions based on a clear and time-bound economic and political reforms programme…The upcoming electoral process will be an essential step. The EU welcomes the commitment of the authorities to hold elections in line with the Constitution, and underlines the importance that the conditions are in place to allow those elections to be peaceful, inclusive, credible and transparent,” said the European Council on Monday, 22 January 2018.
Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has an upcoming State visit to the People’s Republic of China, which will seek to upgrade economic ties with the Asian giant, building on an excellent political relationship. China’s ambassador Huang Ping suggested Mnangagwa’ s meeting with his counterpart , President Xi Jinping, would yield more financial support for Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe will also be profiled in London from May 2-4 2018 in a special session tagged “Invest in Zimbabwe” during the Africa Financial Services Investment Conference. The event provides yet another opportunity for the country, bubbling with confidence due to a renewed sense of hope and optimism, to lure investors – MFSB