Government rallies Africa to back Zavazava for ITU re-election

THE Government has called on African countries to support the re-election of Dr Cosmas Zavazava as Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), saying the position is critical to advancing the continent’s digital transformation agenda.

The appeal was made by the Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Tatenda Mavetera, on Monday during the ITU Regional Development Forum for Africa 2026, currently underway in Victoria Falls.

Addressing delegates from across the continent, Minister Mavetera urged African nations to rally behind Dr Zavazava, who made history in October 2022 when he was elected to the post at the ITU’s elective conference in Bucharest, Romania.

“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. We need a Director who does not just understand Africa’s needs on paper, but who carries them in his soul,” said Minister Mavetera.

Dr Zavazava, a digital development expert born in Zimuto, Masvingo Province, became the first Zimbabwean and first Southern African candidate ever elected to a directorship at a United Nations specialised agency. He took over from the United States’ Doreen Bogdan-Martin, who was elected ITU Secretary-General at the same conference.

The ITU, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is the United Nations specialised agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity.

Minister Mavetera said Dr Zavazava brings extensive experience spanning more than three decades, including over 20 years within the ITU system.

She noted that during his first term, he strengthened broadband mapping, expanded digital skills programmes across Africa, and helped steer member states toward the historic Baku Action Plan.

“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. Cosmas is a son of Zimbabwe, but he has been a devoted servant of the entire developing world,” she said.

Before joining the ITU, Dr Zavazava served as Head of the Government Telecommunications Agency in Zimbabwe and as a senior diplomat (Minister Counsellor). He has also held senior leadership roles within the ITU, including Chief of the Partnerships for Digital Development Department at the Geneva headquarters.

“He knows that a connected Africa is not an ITU work programme—it is a generational calling. I ask you, with humility and with hope: let us give Cosmas Zavazava a second mandate. Let him finish the work we have started together. Not because he is ours, but because he is Africa’s, and Africa needs him at the helm,” said Minister Mavetera.

The forum continues in Victoria Falls, bringing together ICT policymakers, regulators and development partners from across the continent.