Zimbabwe gets top UN post

Rutendo Nyeve, Business Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN digital development expert Dr Cosmas Zavazava has been elected to the position of Director Telecommunications Development Bureau at the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union elective conference held in Bucharest, Romania.

He takes over from United States of America’s Mrs Doreen Bogdan-Martin who has also been elected Secretary-General of the UN specialised agency. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialised agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland together with other UN agencies.

ITU was founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks and Dr Zavazava becomes not only the first Zimbabwean but the first Southern African candidate to be elected into the directorship post in the UN specialised agency.

Born in Zimuto, Masvingo Province, Dr Zavazava is the chief, Partnerships for Digital Development Department at the ITU and he is based at the ITU headquarters in Geneva. Head of delegation at the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 in Bucharest, Romania Deputy Minister of Information Communication Technology and Courier Services Dingumuzi Phuthi said the election into the global body was testament of the undoubted competencies of the country in various fields as it reaps the rewards of the re-engagement drive inspired by President Mnangagwa.

“As the head of delegation to this meeting, I am proud of my country and grateful to President Mnangagwa and my Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere. I am saying to my President, here is our present. It has been through the re-engagement efforts that he has been preaching. In our campaigns we stood guided by the principle of re-engagement. It is the first time for Zimbabwe to get such a post and it is a win for Southern Africa as a region. Zimbabwe gave it it’s all in terms of resources, time and energy,” said Deputy Minister Phuthi.

Extending his profound gratitude to all African, developing countries, Islands and everyone who supported Zimbabwe, Deputy Minister Phuthi said the election to the position of director paved way for more development opportunities.

“Being elected into this position means we are now on the radar for various opportunities. It opens opportunities for support in various sectors. The post focuses on developing countries, countries in special need (those emerging out of war and natural disasters) hence this will go a long way positioning us as a country,” he said.

Speaking to Sunday News from Romania, Dr Zavazava said he was elated and proud to represent the country a such a high level.

“I am elated that as a proud Zimbabwean, and a proud African we won this post which was heavily contested. For the past four years, Africa held no post among the top five elected officials at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The Telecommunication Development Bureau is the projects executing arm of the ITU. We have an opportunity to close the digital gap, skills gap, and accelerate digital transformation in Zimbabwe, Africa and all the regions of the world. We want information and communication technology to be a catalyst for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals by all countries.”

Dr Zavazava was endorsed by the African Union as its candidate for the position of ITU Director Development Bureau at the last Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa. He has a solid record of implementing information and communication technology (ICT) projects in all the regions of the world. His experience spans over 30 years in the telecommunications sector and over 20 years in the Development Sector of the ITU where he has been responsible for three different departments.

Before joining ITU, he was the Head of Government Telecommunications Agency in Zimbabwe, and a senior diplomat (Minister Counsellor). He is currently the Chief of Department responsible for Partnerships for Digital Development in the BDT since 2019. He was previously Chief of Department in the BDT responsible for Projects and Knowledge Management from 2010 to 2019.
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