Zimbabwe-Ethiopia connection

I have been thinking a lot about Zimbabwe over the last couple of days, what with the government arresting the opposition leaders, giving them a severe beating in jail and then releasing them so they could tell their story to the world media. You would almost think that it was a set up by the opposition except that the incident is so characteristic of the current Zimbabwe government. I have been following this story and am holding my breath that the renewed international pressure, and signs of cracks in the ZanuPF support for Mugabe (at a recent Zanu convention there was little support for Mugabe’s proposal to alter the constitution to allow him to extend his term in office until 2010) could eventually lead to a change in government. It has long been my dream that Mugabe dies – and that it would then open opportunities for agricultural development in Zimbabwe and I would be able to go work there and start to repair the damage done by this monster.

So today my main objective was to renew the license for my company to operate in Ethioipia. One could assume that this would not be too difficult as we already had a license, but only someone not familiar with the joys of African bureaucracy would make that mistake. My Ethiopian colleagues have been trying to renew the license for months but have been refused for one artificial reason or another. In the middle of talking with one particularly stubborn man trying to put obstacles in our way, there was a knock on the door and who should enter but the Head of the Investment Commission for Zimbabwe! He was there to be introduced to the stubborn ministerial employee but shook hands around the room. I greeted him with a warm “mangwananani”, the Shona greeting. He was surprised and asked if I knew Zimbabwe. I thought for a split second and decided to surprise him. “My family is from Zimbabwe”. “Oh” he said and smiled and quickly made his exit. What I would have given to have more time to discuss with him. What I did take away from this brief encounter was the level of desperation in Zimbabwe if they are looking for investment from a country that is better known for famine than funding. (Either that or he was looking to invest ill-gotten gains from Zimbabwe…)

Three hours after arriving at the ministry we achieved an unexpected success and walked out with our license to operate. What a pleasant surprise. I have been told by the Chief of Party of the project that with this major accomplishment under my belt it is okay if I do nothing else for the rest of the week. Tempting, but I am hoping to get a lot done this week – including some visits to fun tourist sights. What amazes me about the experience today is that this ministry is considered the most efficient in Ethiopia (according to one of my Ethiopian colleagues). As all investors have to get a license as a first step before they can operate here you can only imagine the difficult business environment. Another much-needed development project.