. . . ‘He is not ours, he is Africa’s’: Zimbabwe minister makes impassioned plea for ITU’s Zavazava to retain leadership
By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
VICTORIA FALLS — In the midst of policy discussions about infrastructure, affordability, and digital sovereignty, Zimbabwe’s ICT Minister made a move that was equal parts political, personal, and pan-African.
Honourable Tatenda Anastacia Mavetera used her keynote address at the ITU Regional Development Forum for Africa 2026 to issue an impassioned plea for the re-election of Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava as Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT).
“As we pursue this continental agenda, the leadership of the ITU‘s Telecommunication Development Bureau is not a matter of ceremony; it is a matter of mission,” Minister Mavetera told delegates at the Cresta Sprayview Hotel in Victoria Falls.
“We need a Director who does not just understand Africa’s needs on paper, but who carries them in his soul.”
The Minister then made her appeal explicit.
“Distinguished delegates, it is with the deepest respect that I stand before you today to ask for your support for Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava’s re-election,” she said.
Minister Mavetera took care to frame Zavazava not as a Zimbabwean candidate — though he is a son of Zimbabwe — but as an African candidate and, indeed, a servant of the entire developing world.
“Cosmas is a son of Zimbabwe, but he has been a devoted servant of the entire developing world,” she said.
“With over three decades in telecommunications, more than 20 years of which were spent within the ITU family, he has led with quiet wisdom.”
The Minister then listed what she described as Zavazava’s achievements during his first term: strengthening broadband mapping, deepening digital skills programmes across the African continent, and helping steer the ITU membership towards the historic Baku Action Plan adopted at WTDC-25 in November 2025.
“He knows that a connected Africa is not an ITU work programme — it is a generational calling,” Minister Mavetera said.
The timing of the appeal is significant. The ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau Director position is subject to election, and Zavazava’s first term is approaching its conclusion.
The African continent has a strong interest in retaining leadership of a bureau that directly oversees development programmes targeting the world’s most vulnerable regions, including Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) — categories that cover much of Africa.
The Minister’s appeal was notably personal in its closing.
“I ask you, with humility and with hope: let us give Cosmas Zavazava a second mandate,” she said. “Let him finish the work we have started together.”
And then, in a line that drew quiet nods from many in the audience: “Not because he is ours, but because he is Africa’s, and Africa needs him at the helm.”
The appeal came near the conclusion of Minister Mavetera’s broader address, which had covered Zimbabwe’s domestic digital transformation, the five Regional Initiatives for Africa, and the urgency of connecting 800 million offline Africans.
But the Minister clearly intended the endorsement to stand out as a moment of political clarity.
Zavazava, who was present at the Forum, did not immediately respond to the Minister’s appeal.
But several delegates who spoke with this publication on condition of anonymity indicated that the Zimbabwean’s first term has been viewed positively across the continent, particularly for his emphasis on regional ownership of development programmes rather than top-down solutions imposed from ITU headquarters in Geneva.
Whether that translates into sufficient support for re-election remains to be seen. Other candidates from other regions may emerge as the election approaches.
But Minister Mavetera’s public endorsement — delivered from the podium of a major regional forum, in front of delegates from across Africa — represents a significant show of continental support.
The Minister’s closing words on the subject left little room for ambiguity.
“Thank you for this truly enriching experience, and also, for your kind attention,” she said, having placed Africa’s digital destiny — and the leadership of the ITU’s development bureau — squarely in the hands of the delegates assembled in Victoria Falls.
The smoke that thunders roared outside. Inside, a continent was being asked to choose who would help lead it into the digital age.
About Author
