The recent appointment of convicted Zanu PF criminal, Frederick Shava as the president of the respected United Nations Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) is inappropriate for Zimbabwe and the UN at large, as he is a person of questionable credibility and standing.
Willias Madzimure,PDP Secretary for International Relations
Ecosoc is one of the six principal organs of the UN responsible for co-ordinating the economic, social, and related work of 14 UN specialised agencies.
However, Shava, the new Ecosoc president, was one of the Zanu PF ministers who, in the late 1980s, were removed from government due to corruption in the Willowvale Scandal.
He was then arrested, tried, convicted and jailed for perjury.
The scandal involved ministers buying luxury Toyota Cressida vehicles from the government-controlled vehicle assembler, Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries and reselling them at highly-inflated prices.
However, like other bootlickers of President Robert Mugabe, Shava was immediately pardoned and has since then been enjoying Mugabe’s patronage.
In another case in 2006, Shava tried to loot agricultural implements at a Kwekwe farm, which he had been allocated under the so-called fast-track land reform programme.
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This is evidence enough that he is a highly corrupt Zanu PF official, who should instead be in jail rather than at the UN. Shava is taking over from Ambassador Oh Joon of South Korea, who hails from a country that is a shining example of what socio-economic development is compared to Shava’s corrupt activities.
For Shava, this appointment is only for personal benefit considering that he has gone for months without receiving his salary from his broke government, as the country’s ambassador to the UN.
He has nothing to take to Ecosoc, as the Zanu PF government is taking the country in the opposite direction compared to other developing countries.
More than three years after Zimbabwe held its elections, the country is now worse off than it was in 2013 with an unemployment rate of over 94%
While Shava is taking over as the Ecosoc president, back home Mugabe is threatening to pull out of the UN. As the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), we strongly condemn the delusional statements made by Mugabe that he will pull Zimbabwe out of the UN.
UN organs such as Unicef, UNAids, World Health Organisation and United Nations Development Programme are playing critical roles in Zimbabwe after Mugabe’s government abandoned and impoverished the people in pursuit of factional and successionist Zanu PF fights.
The threats show that Mugabe and Zanu PF do not want the international community to voice its concerns over the worsening human rights violations and demands for key reforms in Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections.
After losing popularity from the electorate, Mugabe wants to ensure that the 2018 elections are not transparent and is currently concentrating on rigging ahead of the next ballot vote.
Therefore, his threat to pull out of the UN, which is now one of the biggest aid agencies providing relief to suffering Zimbabweans, is meant to create a frosty relationship with the world body ahead of the elections.
We, therefore, reiterate that the only way is to get rid of this corrupt Zanu PF regime and get Zimbabwe working again.
