ZIMBABWE’S bid to be re-admitted into the Commonwealth group of nations appears to have flopped after the economic bloc snubbed the Southern African country.
The Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting ended in
Kigali, Rwanda, on Saturday with deafening silence on Zimbabwe’s re-admission
bid.
The Commonwealth, however, admitted two former French
colonies, Gabon and Togo as its 55th and 56th members.
At the just-ended Commonwealth summit, Zimbabwe had a heavy
presence as it continued to lobby for readmission 18 years after the late
former President Robert Mugabe withdrew the country from the group in 2003.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government applied on May
15, 2018, to re-join the grouping, a year after toppling Mugabe through a
military coup.
But there was no movement by the group, which has
perennially cited human rights abuses and lack of rule of law as stumbling
blocks for Zimbabwe’s re-admission.
Togo and Gabon’s admission was based on the assessment of
several standards such as the democratic process, good governance and rule of
law.
Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said the Commonwealth
snub was a direct indication that the second republic was reminiscent of the
Mugabe regime.
“It’s a confirmation of the obvious, that the Mnangagwa
regime has not changed. It’s a mere extension of Mugabe’s regime, albeit with
more brazen human rights violations, lack of political sophistry and obscene
looting of resources and corruption,” Saungweme said.
“So whatever the Commonwealth stands for and whatever
standards that saw Zimbabwe being kicked out, nothing has changed for the
better to warrant a rethink. So the failure of readmission pours cold water on
Mnangagwa’s re-engagement efforts.”
Commonwealth is a free association of sovereign States
comprising the United Kingdom and a number of its former colonies and
interested parties who chose to have ties based on friendship and practical cooperation
and acknowledge the British monarch as the symbolic head of their association.
Last month, a United Nations report of the Working Group on
the Universal Periodic Review of Zimbabwe said the country had failed to
explain alleged human rights abuses and enforced disappearances during the
January 20, 2022 review in Geneva, Switzerland.
Political analyst Methuseli Moyo said the decision
spotlighted Zimbabwe negatively on the global stage.
“Diplomatically, it is a setback for President Mnangagwa’s
administration, which has sought to portray itself as new and different from
former President Mugabe’s regime. Once more, it spotlights Zimbabwe negatively
in the international relations arena. Domestically, opposition forces will feel
vindicated on their stance that Zimbabwe is undemocratic and poorly governed,”
Moyo said.
Last week, Foreign Affairs and International Trade deputy
minister David Musabayana said government would not be fazed if their bid for
readmission was turned down.
“We are not worried whether we are going to be taken back
to Commonwealth because we acted on our own resolution and because the
President has said that we are open for business and want to partake on a table
where global players, that’s why we have chosen our interests,” he said.
“So whatever that comes, whether it’s positive or negative,
we are not worried. But the position of the government is that we wanted to be
part of the global village and that’s our interest only.”
Despite clear signs of rejection by Commonwealth, Foreign
Affairs ministry spokesperson Livit Mugejo said government had not yet failed
as their application was still in the first phase of readmission.
“There are processes and consultations that the
Commonwealth undertakes before a decision is taken. These are currently
underway. We did not fail anything. Our application is still in the first stage
of the re-admission process,” Mugejo said. Newsday
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