Zim showing willingness to engage EU/ France

via Zim showing willingness to engage EU/ France – Southern Eye 21 September 2015 by Luyanduhlobo Makwati

FRENCH Ambassador to Zimbabwe Laurent Delahouse has described the Zanu PF government’s commitment to the ongoing re-engagement efforts as encouraging, adding his country would continue pushing for realignment of laws to the national Constitution.

Addressing journalists at the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo on Wednesday, Delahouse said recently they had a meeting with Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa to discuss a number of bilateral issues.

“A couple of weeks ago (Water and Climate minister) Oppah Muchinguri visited France for a three-week-long discussion with her French counterpart on climate issues in France for the first time in 10 years. This shows that there is willingness by the Zanu PF government to work with other nations,” he said.

“As France we are committed to working closely with Zimbabwe. As long as laws are aligned we don’t have a problem. Walking the laws and talking the realignment of laws is something else, but we are also committed to sharing a lot of things with Zimbabwe especially as far as addressing the issues of climate change.”

Speaking at the same event, European Union head of delegation Philippe Van Damme highlighted the projects they were working on would require a lot of money for the world to avoid the catastrophic challenges that would be felt when climate change takes its toll.

“This is a world problem. Later this year we are going to hold an international conference in Paris to discuss the issues of climate change and solutions which should be proffered to avoid problems. The world needs to pool resources of close to 100 billion euros by year 2020,” he said.

ICRISAT researcher Sabina Homann Kee Tui noted that if the country changes from growing maize to white grain that would alleviate poverty as maize was being affected by climate change.

“If small-scale farmers grow small grain crops there are likely to alleviate poverty and as a result it will mean that in the next coming years most people in the Matabeleland region will be living above the poverty datum line. I urge communal farmers to use both their expertise of indigenous knowledge systems and scientific methods that research institutions are sharing with them,” Tui said.