The Sunday Mail
The eighth edition of the two-day Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) ends in Tunisia today. It is the second time it has been hosted on the continent after Kenya in 2016. The forum is considered a premier platform for Japan’s engagement with Africa. Through its engagement and re-engagement thrust, Zimbabwe is luring new investments and seeking markets for local products through economic diplomacy. The Sunday Mail Deputy Editor DARLINGTON MUSARURWA (DM) had an opportunity to talk to Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mr Taonga Mushayavanhu (TM) on the sidelines of TICAD 8.
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DM: Can you give us a brief background about the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and why it is important for countries such as Zimbabwe.
TM: TICAD started in 1993 as a policy dialogue for African development between African countries and Japan. This dialogue was later joined by other partners, namely, the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC). Apart from engaging in policy dialogue, TICAD also raises resources for Africa’s development from Japan and other partners. African countries get to benefit from Japan’s own experience in development. The Asian country has limited natural resources and has benefited from its own ingenuity and technology. For Zimbabwe, there are prospects of Japanese investment and technology transfer.
DM: What are some of the expected outcomes from TICAD 8?
TM: TICAD 8 will be anchored on three pillars, namely, the pillar on realising structural transformation for sustainable economic growth and social development. This pillar will emphasise the importance of partnership between Japan and Africa to encourage investment, to promote innovation from the private sector through encouraging collaboration between Japanese and African companies and technology transfer, and the strengthening of human resources development in order to accelerate structural transformation for inclusive and sustainable growth in Africa so as to achieve the aims of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A number of initiatives will be undertaken under this pillar such as the promotion of Japan’s Green Growth Initiative with Africa (GGA), which will mobilise financial resources in climate adaptation and mitigation, including the use of Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) towards COP27 in Egypt in November 2022 and beyond.
The second pillar is realising a resilient and sustainable society which is looking forward to the post-Covid-19 pandemic era. It emphasises resilient health systems, education and environment sectors, among others.
Pillar three focuses on realising sustainable peace and stability. This pillar recognises that good governance, democracy and the rule of law are the basis for the development, peace and stability of Africa. In this regard, Japan and its partners in TICAD will continue to support African-led efforts geared towards preserving democratic principles, including inclusive, credible and transparent elections, as well as institution and capacity-building and strengthening of governance. It is expected that the Yokohama Plan of Action will be subsumed into the Tunis Plan of Action for the TICAD8 project implementation.
DM: Would you say there have been demonstrable gains that emerged from TICAD 7 that was held in Yokohama, Japan, in 2019?
TM: There has been some progress in a number of areas, including maritime security, disaster risk management, renewable energy projects, education, training in various fields, as well as a number of soft programmes and projects which were implemented under the Yokohama Plan of Action. These involved seminars and workshops. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic then impacted negatively on some of the projects that had been lined up. However, this also gave way to the implementation of Covid-19-related projects as well as other health projects.
DM: Over the years, how has Zimbabwe benefited from such engagements?
TM: Zimbabwe has also benefited from Japanese aid and project support. Examples are the One-Stop Border Post at Chirundu; the Nyakomba Irrigation Scheme; rehabilitation of a section of the Chirundu-Makuti road; procurement of cyber security equipment; medical equipment for Sally Mugabe Central Hospital (formerly Harare Central Hospital) Children’s Ward; medical equipment for Covid-19 response; technical assistance for the development of geospatial information database; development of community-based tourism, et cetera.
We now look forward to agreements for the Phase II of the road improvement of the northern part of the North-South Corridor; construction of a new bridge across Save River on the Mutare-Masvingo Road; and support to the One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) programme at Beitbridge.
DM: It seems the shadow of Covid-19 has been looming large over TICAD’s aspirations ever since 2019. To what extent has the pandemic affected some of the envisaged projects born out of this initiative?
TM: Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted negatively on the implementation of the TICAD 7 projects. To a degree, that is why the Yokohama Plan of Action has had to be rolled over into the Tunis Plan of Action. A lot of companies had to shelve their investment plans because of the pandemic, and the Japanese government would also have delayed the implementation of some projects because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially during 2022.
DM: Which areas would you think provide a compelling business case for investors attending TICAD, for example, companies from economies such as Japan?
TM: The areas of food processing, climate change adaptation technology, mineral beneficiation, heavy engineering, pharmaceutical manufacturing, et cetera.
DM: Any parting shot?
TM: The ultimate goal of the TICAD process is to forge solidarity between Africa and Japan and the rest of the international community based on ownership and partnership, because African development can be achieved only by the concerted efforts of Africa and its development partners.
