via Zanu PF must respect rule of law – DailyNews Live 26 March 2015
HARARE – More than a dozen European Union envoys and business delegations that visited Zimbabwe in the last few months have insisted that the Zanu PF-led government must respect the rule of law if the country is to fully normalise relations with the international community.
As such, it is critical for President Robert Mugabe and his government to listen to these voices of reason and lead from the front by respecting the rule of law and property as well as human rights.
Since the advent of the land reform exercise in the year 2000, the Zanu PF government has been acting with impunity, recklessly trampling on human and property rights of its citizens as well as those of foreigners.
It is internationally acknowledged that no country can receive financial assistance unless and until it starts to respect the rule of law and this is free advice that government has been getting from all quarters.
Germany director for sub-Saharan Africa and Sahel regions, Georg Schmidt, on Tuesday explicitly said Zimbabwe must fully implement its new Constitution and respect the rule of law if the country is to attract investment and international support to reverse its economic decline.
“Economic interaction needs legal protection,” and foreign investors, in particular, need guarantees and clarity concerning their investments.
“Economics can never be separated from the political situation so political stability and economic prosperity go hand in hand. It is important in political terms that people can feel they are protected by the law but it is also important in economic terms because it is the thing that foreign investors look at before they engage,” said Schmidt.
With such free but priceless advice, we expect the Zanu PF government — notorious for instigating violence on dissenting voices and suppressing free speech — to put its house in order and start implementing the new Constitution and respecting human rights.
At the moment, we are seriously concerned about persistent reports of harassment, targeting innocent citizens believed to be aligned to former Vice President Joice Mujuru.
The unrestrained show of violence and extortion along political lines fosters an unacceptable environment of fear and intimidation that will only perpetuate violence and undermine the peace and stability which the police are sworn to protect.
We want to urge the police and the judiciary to fully utilise the law to end violence, as failure to act could indicate that the police force and prosecutors are serving the interests of Zanu PF, rather than the Zimbabwean people.
The Zanu PF leadership, members and supporters must strictly abide by the laws of the country and the police must hold accountable those members who violate other people’s human and property rights.
COMMENTS
Even if Zanu PF now say that they will respect the rule of law, How can one believe them? They will not even abide by the laws they made.
And look how many agreements they have broken.
These people are absolutely dishonest.
How many times have Mugabe told the West to “Go to hell”
I would be very surprise if any meaningful amount of money would be made available to them from outside.
HOW DO YOU RESPECT A CONCEPT THAT IS FOREIGN TO YOU AND YOU DONT UNDERSTAND IT! BOKO HARAM MENTALITY PREVAILS!
There we go. Effective political economies need good governance, not acronyms, grandstanding and impunity. We only need to do what’s best for our people, respectfully. Anyone can pout Mugabe’s lofty sentiments in international media. It’s the final result on the ground, at home, that really matters. He has failed dismally, by any measure at all. Pity this should happen to a man the nation had pinned it’s hopes for dignity for so long.
mr mugabe is so deluded about his own importance that he will never accept to respect a “small thing” such as the rule of law if it is contrary to his own infallible will and judgement. never ever.