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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
The president of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Mr Brian Speers, has implored Zimbabweans to maintain peace and stability to attract investors and ensure sustainable development.

The sentiments come against a backdrop of efforts by opposition MDC-Alliance in inciting violent protests.

Mr Speers is in the country at the invitation of the National Peace Trust, a non-governmental organisation chaired by Mrs Sekai Holland, a former co-minister in charge of the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration during the inclusive Government.

Mr Speers visited the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Museum and also met with academics at the Midlands State University which has partnered with NPT in its work.

“Mrs Holland has convened a disparate, but very thoughtful and influential group of people whom I spent time with and unfailingly there is a great loyalty and love for Zimbabwe, there is a great passion for peace moving forward.

“There is a recognition that without peace and stability there cannot really be investment and sustainable development. We need a period of stability to allow investment to come in and to allow grassroots initiatives to take place and I am more convinced than I was before the weekend that there are people here with a good heart and good motivation and good vision that can help make that happen,” he said.

He also commended the peaceful environment in the country despite reports of chaos in some sections of the media.

“When I said I was coming to Harare my family and my work colleagues said you must be mad because there is rioting on the streets, there is oppression, there is difficulty. While I believe that the Press report things that would have happened, but my experiences here have been none of the above,” Mr Speers said.

Mr Speers also said he was impressed by the MSU students and their grasp of issues.

“I arrived on Sunday only and I feel have never stopped and my experience since then have been unhesitatingly positive.”