Only five days after landing another United Nations post following the successful election of Zimbabwe telecommunications expert, Dr Cosmas Zavazava to the post of Director Telecommunications Development Bureau of United Nations’ Telecommunications Union, Zimbabwe was elected into the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council at the on-going 41st ICAO Assembly, at the ICAO Headquarters in Montreal, Canada. ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) created on 7 December 1944 by the Convention on International Civil Aviation, commonly known as the Chicago Convention (1944). Zimbabwe was elected into the Council under Part III by getting an impressive 148 from the 175 votes casted by member States. Part III is a category which provides for geographical representation in the Council. Zimbabwe is the SADC candidate, representing the 16 Member States. Voting in each Part of the election is by secret ballot and a majority of the votes cast are required to succeed in the election.
The election of Zimbabwe into the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s highest decision-making body is indeed a testimony of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s foreign policy thrust of
re-engagement and engagement.
The Zimbabwe delegation was led by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Honourable Felix T. Mhona who was joined in Montreal by Zimbabwe Ambassador to Canada, H. E Ruth Chikwira. The campaigning team was chaired by the Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Eng Amos Marawa following Cabinet approval in May 2022 and the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee to spearhead the campaign processes. Since then, the team solicited support from almost all member States and regional influential bodies. The final push for the election was made at the height of the Assembly by the State of Zimbabwe address by the Minister of
Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. F. T Mhona who was the Head of Delegation for the Zimbabwe delegates.
In his address of the August House with over 1000 delegates in attendance from 180 Member States and International Organisations, Honourable F T Mhona emphasized the Government of Zimbabwe’s commitment to economic development, “In order to enhance Zimbabwe’s economic development, the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe under the wise leadership of our President, His Excellency Comrade Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, adopted the Vision 2030 for Zimbabwe to attain an Upper Middle-Income Economy and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) for the period 2021 – 2025 as a blueprint for its development”. To the applause of delegates in attendance, the Honourable Minister further underlined the Government of Zimbabwe’s commitment to growth and development of the aviation sector, “In line with this development strategy, Zimbabwe is undertaking a massive programme of expansion and modernization of our airports, that is; the Victoria Falls International Airport, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and our main gateway, the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. These projects will increase the total passenger handling capacity of our International Airports to 9.2 million per annum from 3.5 million passengers”.
The main benefit of Council membership to States is to closely follow and participate in the development in Standards and Recommended Practices in civil aviation at ICAO and to ensure that the interests of African States and indeed Zimbabwe are respected. Zimbabwe will be represented by an expert from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, Mr. Munyaradzi Waniwa, who will also be the SADC Representative on the ICAO Council. This representation enables State and the Region to; represent its national and regional interests during Council deliberations and to directly influence ICAO policies and programmes. The representation will also facilitate the defense of national and regional civil aviation positions. This also gives access to advanced information regarding amendments to ICAO Standards
and Recommended Practices (SARPs), rules and procedures and thus alert the Civil Aviation Administration of its State and region. This representation helps to solicit support from other Member States and the Council for technical assistance. Over and above these benefits, having a seat on the Council also enhances the diplomatic posture of a State and region.
Following successful election, Honourable Felix T. Mhona, dedicated the Council Seat to His Excellency, President of Zimbabwe Cde Dr E D Mnangagwa whose wise leadership and support to the aviation sector has brought the country into these glorious moments. He further encouraged the Zimbabwe and SADC Permanent Representative, Mr Munyaradzi Waniwa to hold the Zimbabwean flag high, tap into the great fountains of knowledge in the Council and make the country and SADC region proud.
