Richard Muponde Zimpapers Politics Hub
ZANU-PF’s engagements with fellow African governing parties in Addis Ababa signal an effort to turn the continent’s shared political history into practical cooperation aimed at stability and economic progress.
At the Second African Political Parties Summit, held in Ethiopia from November 5 to 7, 2026, the ruling party combined bilateral discussions with a formal agreement, strengthening links with Ethiopia’s Prosperity
Party while engaging Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and Liberia’s Unity Party.
Political parties are more than election machines. In countries where governing parties shape national policy, mobilise constituencies and set development priorities, durable institutional relationships can create channels for exchanging experience, coordinating positions, and building trust. Zanu-PF’s outreach, therefore, reflects an understanding that African stability and economic progress require cooperation extending beyond state-to-state diplomacy.
The summit’s theme, “Governing for Growth: Political Parties as Architects of Africa’s Economic Future,” placed that responsibility firmly before participating parties.
Its adoption of the Addis Ababa Declaration further provided a continental framework around leadership, governance, and economic transformation. Yet declarations and ceremonial handshakes have value only when followed by measurable action.
MoUs give cooperation an institutional framework
A key outcome was the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Zanu-PF and Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party on November 7 at the Adwa Victory Memorial in Addis Ababa. The agreement establishes a framework for sustained party-to-party engagement, including exchanges on governance, leadership development, institutional capacity-building, and national development.
An MoU matters because it gives political goodwill and organised structure. Rather than relying on occasional visits or personal relationships between leaders, the two parties can use an agreed framework to identify priorities, maintain communication, and develop programmes. It also preserves institutional memory when office-bearers change, ensuring that cooperation is not tied exclusively to particular personalities.
For Zanu-PF the agreement creates an opportunity to learn from Ethiopia’s political and development experiences while presenting Zimbabwe’s own approaches for discussion. Neither country can simply transplant the other’s policies. Their histories, economies, and political circumstances differ. The value lies in comparing what has worked, examining failures, and adapting lessons to local conditions.
Bilateral ties widen political network
Zanu-PF’s National Political Commissar Cde Munyaradzi Machacha also led engagements with CCM deputy secretary-general Aggrey Mwanri and Unity Party national chairman Dr Luther Tarpeh.
These discussions broadened outreach beyond the Ethiopian agreement, connecting ZANU PF with parties operating in different national settings.
The talks focused on party organisation, administration, political leadership, and development.
Such exchanges help parties understand how their counterparts recruit and train members, communicate policy, manage internal structures, and sustain grassroots participation.
They may also create opportunities for cooperation among women and youth wings, whose participation is essential to building representative and responsive institutions. The composition of the ZANU PF delegation reflected this organisational emphasis. Cde Machacha was accompanied by Secretary for War Veterans Affairs Cde Douglas Mahiya, Secretary for External Relations in the Women’s League Cde Betty Kaseke, Secretary for Administration in the Youth League Cde Tendai Chiwetu and Deputy Director for Operations in External Relations Cde Francis Mufambi.
Their presence incorporated generational, gender, and liberation-history perspectives into the engagement.
Cde Machacha explained the substance of the discussions. “Our discussions centred on strengthening fraternal relations, enhancing party-building strategies, deepening institutional cooperation and exchanging experiences in political leadership, party administration and national development,” he said.
From liberation solidarity to contemporary development
The historical dimension is significant. Many African governing parties emerged from anti-colonial struggles or movements for national liberation. Their shared experiences created bonds around sovereignty, self-determination, and resistance to external domination.
Those connections remain politically meaningful, but contemporary challenges require translating them into effective responses to unemployment, infrastructure deficits, industrialisation, food security, and technological change.
Cde Machacha stressed the need to make these shared values operational: “These engagements reaffirmed the enduring importance of solidarity among African political parties and the need to translate our shared historical experiences, revolutionary values and developmental aspirations into practical cooperation.”
Stability requires strong institutions and accountability
Political stability is another important rationale for party-to-party cooperation. Organised parties can provide structured channels for political participation, leadership development, and peaceful competition.
Exchanges on administration and governance help strengthen internal procedures and institutional resilience.
Stronger institutions can, in turn, support predictable policymaking and a more stable environment for investment and development.
However, stability should not be confused with the absence of criticism or political competition.
Durable stability rests on public confidence, accountable leadership, respect for constitutional processes, and institutions capable of responding to citizens. MoUs cannot substitute domestic responsibilities, nor should party cooperation become a mechanism for endorsing every policy or practice of a partner.
Economic progress is the ultimate measure
The economic case for these relationships is equally compelling. Parties that share governing experience can facilitate dialogue on investment promotion, agricultural modernisation, infrastructure, skills development, industrial policy, and regional trade. Although party agreements do not replace government-to-government treaties or commercial contracts, they build political understanding and identify areas where formal institutions and businesses might later cooperate. Zimbabwe’s development ambitions require partnerships that expand knowledge, markets, and productive capacity.
Engagement with African counterparts exposes policymakers and party institutions to different approaches while strengthening support for continental integration. Ethiopia’s experience, Tanzania’s political history, and Liberia’s national context offer distinct perspectives rather than a single template.
Cde Machacha noted that Zanu-PF intended to sustain these relationships and connect them directly to national outcomes.
“As Zanu-PF, we remain committed to consolidating these fraternal relationships, strengthening institutional capacities and advancing mutually beneficial partnerships that contribute to political stability, economic transformation and the prosperity of our respective nations,” he said.
This commitment must now be matched by execution. The parties should establish clear focal points, agree on priority areas, set timelines for exchanges, and periodically assess results.
Publishing substantive outcomes would also help demonstrate that these agreements serve broader national interests.
The Addis Ababa engagements offer Zanu-PF an avenue to strengthen African political networks while contributing to a wider debate about political parties and continental development.
Their ultimate significance will not be measured by the number of meetings or signatures, but by whether cooperation improves institutions, supports stability, and helps unlock economic opportunity for the people.
