http://news.yahoo.com/
AFP
Fri Aug 20,
1:13 pm ET
HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Friday
vowed not make
any further concessions with his partners in a unity
government until
western sanctions are removed, the state news agency
said.
Mugabe told his ZANU-PF party's central committee in the capital
Harare that
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai must call for the removal of a
western
travel ban and asset freeze on the 86-year-old leader and his inner
circle.
"They have to get those sanctions off if they want any
concessions from us,"
Mugabe said, according to the New Ziana
agency.
"There are no more concessions. We will never ever move," he
said.
Both the European Union and the United States maintain a travel ban
and
asset freeze on Mugabe, his wife and inner circle in protest at a series
of
disputed elections since 2002 and alleged human rights abuses by his
government.
The unity deal was signed nearly two years ago, but the
feuding parties are
still battling over a series of top political posts.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
20 August
2010
The countdown for the inclusive government to implement the GPA, as
resolved
at the SADC summit, began on the day the Troika tabled the report
on
Zimbabwe in Namibia.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told SW Radio
Africa on Friday the countdown
begun when 'pen was put to paper' during the
Troika meeting last Sunday in
Windhoek.
The SADC Troika on Defence,
Security and Politics resolved that agreed
issues in the Global Political
Agreement should be fully implemented within
a month. South African
President Jacob Zuma, who is the SADC facilitator on
Zimbabwe, later
presented his report to the summit on Monday and his
recommendations were
endorsed and accepted by the full summit.
But President Robert Mugabe on
Friday cast serious doubt on any hope of this
happening when said he won't
meet any further demands of the MDC until
targeted sanctions are repealed.
This is a complete u-turn to what Mugabe
and his partners agreed to at the
Troika in Windhoek.
Speaking at his party's central committee meeting
Mugabe said that Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had failed to meet
conditions of the 18-month-old
coalition deal to have sanctions against him
and his ruling elite removed.
The MDC remain adamant that they have no
power to force the West to remove
the targeted sanctions.
'The
countdown started when the Troika met and adopted a report tabled by
President Zuma. But what is disheartening for us is the fact that our
colleagues in ZANU PF have once again begun to misrepresent issues,' Chamisa
said.
He explained that ZANU PF, with the help of some identified
culprits in the
SADC Troika, had also manipulated the final wording of the
communiqué issued
after the summit.
It is believed the issue of
governors somehow found its way into the final
communiqué when it had been
addressed and dealt with at the Troika meeting.
The SADC communiqué said the
appointment of governors will be done
'concurrently' with the removal of
targeted sanctions.
The MDC feel short-changed that ZANU PF backtracked
on their promise to
appoint governors from their party, once the current
term of the incumbents
expired.
Chamisa said as far as they were
concerned, there is no way the appointment
of governors could be linked to
the removal of targeted sanctions or
restrictive measures.
He added
it was impossible for the MDC to talk about issues they don't have
control
over because they didn't impose sanctions in the first place, adding
the
issue of governors and the issue of restrictive measures were as
separate as
day and night
'This is just pussy footing, dilly dallying and foot
dragging by ZANU PF.
What they're actually doing is laying an ambush along
the roadmap for a free
and fair election in Zimbabwe,' he
said.
Jameson Timba, thr Minister in Tsvangirai's office, queried how the
appointment of governors in one sovereign country can be linked to the
lifting of sanctions by other sovereign countries.
He said;
'Nyatsoterera unzwe udofo. muhofisi maita benzi,' which means
'listen
carefully and you will hear stupidity. There is a madman in the
office.'
Analysts point out that ZANU PF has a habit of shifting
goal-posts. When the
issue of governors was pursued last year, Mugabe argued
that it could not be
resolved in the middle of their (governors)'s
terms.
The current governors' terms expired on 31st July and once again
ZANU PF are
shifting the goal-posts and linking the issue of governors to
the separate
issue of targeted sanctions.
On Wednesday the United
States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray said
sanctions on Zimbabwe will
remain, until conditions that led to their
imposition are
removed.
Speaking to journalists in Harare Ambassador Ray said although the
targeted
sanctions were under constant review, the decision to remove them
would be
influenced by progress in the implementation of the GPA and respect
for
human rights.
http://news.radiovop.com
20/08/2010
13:15:00
Harare, August 20, 2010 - Civic groups aligned to President
Robert Mugabe's
Zanu (PF) party have appointed their own focal point person
to work with the
Kimberley Process (KP), rejecting Farai Maguwu appointed
Tuesday by the
umbrella organisation for Non-governmental organisations,
Nango.
Goodson Mguni, a known Zanu (PF) supporter, was appointed as the
parallel
focal point person in a direct challenge to the appointment of
Maguwu by the
National Association of Nongovernmental Organisations
(Nango).
Mguni is president of the Federation of Civil Society
Organisation. He
will lead a 13-member team that also includes Paddington
Japajapa, Tafadzwa
Musarara, Affirmative Action Group secretary general and
Chris Mutangadura a
Law Officer in the Attorney General's office.
The
Zanu PF aligned groups said they were not happy with Maguwu because he
was
facing criminal charges. Maguwu is facing charges of spreading
falsehoods
prejudicial to the state after he attempted to expose human
rights
violations in Chiadzwa.
He is out on bail. The groups said Maguwu's
movements were restricted. But
Nango has refused to recognised the
appointment of Mguni and his team.
The chief executive officer, Cephas
Zinhumwe said: "Government has nothing
to do with choosing who the focal
point person should be. It is other people
in the KP that are going to
debate that and decide whether the name seconded
is credible or
not."
"Where were there when operation Murambatsvina was killing micro
business?
We do not want to waste time engaging bogus organisations because
once you
engage them, you are authenticating them," Zinhumwe said.
http://news.radiovop.com
20/08/2010
13:18:00
Harare, August 20, 2010 - Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi's
son
Lieutenant-Colonel Engineer Saadi Muammar al-Gaddafi, and his delegation
were on Thursday detained at Harare International Airport for two hours by
immigration officials after jetting into the country without
passports.
Tourism and Hospitality Minister Walter Mzembi who was
present at the
airport waiting to welcome the 18 member delegation quickly
phoned Home
Affairs Ministry who then ordered the release of the
delegation after
almost two hours of detaintion,"said sources from the
state media who
had gone to cover the arrival of the Gaddafi
delegation.
The Gaddafi's son led delegation, which jetted through South
Africa claimed
that they left their passports in South Africa.
The
delegation, which is in the country for a five-day visit said it wanted
to
explore business opportunities, but sources within Tourism Ministry said
Minister Mzembi was behind the invitation whose purpose was not
clear.
Speaking to journalists after his release by immigration officials
at Harare
International Airport, Lt-Col Al Ghaddafi said "We would like to
look at
business opportunities in Zimbabwe for Libyan investment especially
in
agriculture and tourism,"
He is expected to tour Victoria Falls
and the Great Zimbabwe in Masvingo.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
20
August 2010
The General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of
Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ)
has this week raised concerns about "rampant" intimidation
and harassment of
farm workers in constitutional outreach meetings, in
Mashonaland farming
areas in particular.
GAPWUZ is carrying out a
nationwide constitution education campaign, as part
of the public exercise
to draft a new constitution. They said that
intimidation and harassment of
its members is worst in Mashonaland
provinces. The union said farm workers,
especially those from Mashonaland
Central and West, are being specifically
targeted by war vets who are
forcing them to toe the ZANU PF
line.
GAPWUZ said that farm workers are particularly vulnerable because
of the
many war vets in rural areas, as a result of their violent
involvement in
the land grab campaign. More than a million people were
affected by the land
grab campaign which saw hundreds of thousands of farm
workers and their
families left homeless and jobless.
"There is
rampant intimidation at farms from ZANU PF loyalists who want to
foist their
views on the people," said GAPWUZ spokesperson Tapiwa Zivira.
He added:
"We have travelled to various provinces in the country,
sensitising the farm
labourers, but we have realised that people are not
able to speak for
themselves because of intimidation and threats of
expulsion."
Zivira
said that farm workers are also being silenced on issues related to
land.
"From our campaigns, we have discovered that our members want
small pieces
of land and we are therefore demanding that land be set aside
for the farm
labourers. We also want a Bill of Rights that encompasses
labour rights,"
said Zivira.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
20 August, 2010
MDC officials and supporters in different
parts of the country have started
devising their own strategies to deal with
ZANU PF sponsored violence and
intimidation during the constitutional
outreach exercise. There appears to
be no national strategy on how to
respond to the attempts to silence the
MDC, which has been dubbed "Operation
Chimumumu" (do not speak).
In areas such as Masvingo, where war vet
Jabulani Sibanda brutalized those
who made contributions at the outreach
meetings, MDC supporters are reported
to have fought back and Sibanda and
his thuggish war vets eventually left
the area.
In Manicaland MDC
officials adopted a different strategy. First they
suspended the outreach
program altogether then this week Senator Patrick
Chitaka, who is part of
the constitutional outreach team, said they resolved
not to hold meetings in
the areas where violence and intimidation have been
reported.
Many
observers feel that the MDC leadership has not been vocal enough and
that
they are failing to use their powers within the coalition government to
stop
ZANU PF's attacks.
Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa, who has spent the
week travelling through
rural parts of Masvingo province, said provincial
leaders are not adequately
representing the situation on the ground. He
reports that many villagers are
fleeing from their homes after receiving
threats from ZANU PF sponsored
elements.
Muchemwa described incidents of
arson, assault, intimidation and threats,
all related to the constitutional
outreach exercise. He also accused the
three main parties of focusing on
elections that are to come, rather than
educating the rural populace about
the country's constitution. Muchemwa said
that he believes violence will
escalate when elections finally do come.
Theresa Makone, the MDC-T
co-minister of Home Affairs, told SW radio Africa
last week that she had not
received any 'official' reports of violence,
including the well-reported
violent tour by Jabulani Sibanda.
Many reports have been distributed by
civil groups that are shadowing the
outreach exercise and by the Minister's
own party, the MDC. But we were
unable to reach her again to follow-up on
whether she had received any
reports since then.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
August 20, 2010
Outreach meetings that were scheduled for
Thursday in Chipinge were
cancelled without notice, after constitutional
outreach teams ran out of
fuel. Officials rescheduled some of the meetings
for Friday, but the
information did not reach villagers on time and no-one
attended. Only three
villagers turned out at Mt Selinda Primary School in
Chipinge on Friday, and
they told the team that hundreds of villagers had
gathered there on Thursday
afternoon, then dispersed with no idea what was
happening.
MDC-T Senator Patrick Chitaka, a member of the Copac team in
Manicaland,
explained that officials at the Central Equipment and Mechanical
Department
(CMED) told him that 5,900 litres of petrol had been used and not
paid for.
They said the fuel needed to be paid for before any more fuel
could be
distributed. Chitaka said that a breakdown of the mileage and usage
logs was
currently being analysed to determine who had used the
fuel.
Meanwhile, John Jiyamwa and Matibiri Nyando, the two MDC activists
who were
arrested on Monday along with five others, are still in custody at
Cashel
Valley in Manicaland. They were charged with "disturbing peace" after
speaking at a Copac meeting in the area.
The group of seven were
abducted at gunpoint on Monday by intelligence
agents and dumped at Cashel
Valley police station. Five were released on
Thursday after paying a $10
fine each. The MDC said that they were denied
access to food, legal services
and medication. A source in the police
department said they had also been
assaulted.
In Masvingo, the Ward 4 councilor Daniel Muchuchutu and the
director of
elections Muranganwa Chanyahwa, remain in custody at Masvingo
Central police
station. They were arrested on Wednesday and accused of
disrupting a ZANU PF
meeting, related to the constitutional outreach
program. A magistrate said
he was not ready to hear the case when the two
appeared in court Thursday
morning. They were remanded in custody until
Friday, but then the judge said
he did not have enough time to deliver a
verdict. The two will now have to
spend the weekend in jail.
http://www.afriquejet.com/
News - Africa
news
Harare, Zimbabwe - A magistrate in central Zimbabwe Thursday jailed a
school
headmaster for four years for a bizarre examination fraud in which he
wrote
the final exams for students in exchange for cattle.
The
headmaster, Fabious Maripise, wrote 11 subjects on behalf of students at
his
school in the central district of Gokwe, and was given an unspecified
number
of cattle in return.
He pleaded guilty to the offence, which was
unearthed after officials at the
local examinations board noticed the
similarity in the hand writing of the
students from his school.
The
fraud involved 'O' Level examinations, the school leaving stage which
opens
opportunities to colleges and job market.
Harare - Pana 20/08/2010
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Caroline Mvundura Friday 20 August
2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe on Thursday named committees dominated by
top allies of
President Robert Mugabe that will help the government set
percentages of
shareholding foreign-owned companies in different sectors of
the economy
must transfer to locals.
The decision to set varying
empowerment thresholds for each sector was
adopted about two months ago, in
a major shift from an earlier requirement
that foreign firms cede 51 percent
shareholding to local blacks.
Announcing the committees yesterday,
Indigenisation Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere said they should move with speed
to come up with recommendations
to end uncertainty among investors over how
much stake they are required to
sell to locals.
"You need to rush
because by the end of September we want investors to be
clear from day one,"
Kasukuwere said.
"We want to bring about certainty in the market so we
should work fast, we
have a tight deadline. I am pleased that the business
community is well
represented to give the views of industry on the
recommendations which will
be part of our policy once it goes through
cabinet," he said.
The committees named by Kasukuwere will cover the
financial services,
mining, agriculture, energy, transport and motor
industry,
telecommunications and information communication technology,
trading,
engineering and construction.
Other committees were
appointed for the tourism and hospitality, arts,
entertainment and culture,
education and sport, services, and manufacturing
sectors.
Among
prominent Mugabe allies and supporters heading some of the committees
is
Adam Molai, who is married to one of Mugabe's nieces and is a well-known
tobacco merchant. He will chair the manufacturing committee.
The
committee also includes Bulawayo businessman and an ally of Mugabe's
ZANU
(PF) party, Delma Lupepe.
Businessman Farai Mutamangira will head the
financial services committee
where top Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe official
Munyaradzi Kereke was appointed
a member.
Chartered Accountant
Tinashe Rwodzi, who has strong links with elements in
Zanu (PF) chairs the
mining committee, which also includes known ZANU PF
supporters, Chris
Mutsvangwa and broadcaster, Supa Mandiwanzira.
Former senior army
officers Gibson Mashingaidze, and Mike Karakadzai are
among those that will
sit on some of the committees that will determine how
much foreign
shareholders will be required to transfer to locals.
War veteran and
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority CEO Karikoga Kaseke, was included
in the tourism
committee, together with another well-known ZANU PF
supporter, Emmanuel
Fundira.
Fundira is president of the Zimbabwe Council for
Tourism.
Top musician Oliver Mutukudzi was included in the arts and
entertainment
committee while Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba was
appointed as a member
to the telecoms committee, which also includes Douglas
Mboweni, the chief
executive of officer of Zimbabwe's biggest mobile phone
company.
Kasukuwere has previously said that he was in consultations with
Finance
Minister Tendai Biti over how to raise money for an empowerment fund
that
shall warehouse shares for future transfer to blacks.
But
analysts say neither the cash-strapped government nor impoverished
blacks
will be able to raise money to buy shares in large foreign-owned
mines or
factories.
Among the large multinational corporations targeted by
Zimbabwe's
empowerment laws are cigarette manufacturer BAT Zimbabwe, which
is 80
percent British-owned; UK-controlled financial institutions Barclays
Bank
and Standard Chartered Bank, food group Nestlé Zimbabwe, mining giants
Rio
Tinto and Zimplats, and AON Insurance. - ZimOnline.
http://www1.voanews.com/
Zimbabwe's wheat harvests are expected to hit an all-time low
this year of
11,000 metric tonnes in a nation that needs at least 250,000
tonnes annually
Gibbs Dube | Washington 19 August
2010
Zimbabwean consumers could see the price of a loaf of bread rise
by as much
as 20 percent soon due to a surge in world wheat prices resulting
from a
one-year Russian ban on cereal exports after devastating crop fires
there.
Wellington Peyama, a member of the National Bakers Association of
Zimbabwe,
said the proposed price increase will push the price of bread from
US$1 to
US$1.20 a loaf.
Russia, the world's third largest producer of
wheat, stopped cereal exports
last Sunday following widespread fires in its
wheat-growing regions,
sparking a global increase in wheat
prices.
Zimbabwe's wheat harvests are expected to hit an all-time low
this year of
11,000 metric tonnes in a nation that needs at least 250,000
tonnes annually
for to meet domestic requirements.
Peyama told VOA
Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube the price increases are
unavoidable, as
Zimbabwean millers have warned of a 25 percent increase in
wheat and
flour-related commodities and the cost must be passed on.
Roderick
Fayayo, spokesman for the Bulawayo Progressive Residents
Association, said
many Zimbabweans won't be able to afford bread following
such an increase in
the price of the basic commodity.
Many Zimbabweans make no more than
US$200 a month.
Friday 20 August
2010
The MDC’s governors-designate are now ready to be sworn in
following the vacant positions that have arisen due to the expiry of the terms
of office of the illegally-appointed Zanu PF governors. The MDC dismisses the
misleading and mischievous report in today’s issue of The Herald that the three
principals to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) agreed that the appointment
of provincial governors be done concurrently with the lifting of restrictive
measures.
The MDC’s position is that restrictive measures are a bilateral
issue between Zanu PF and those who imposed them on grounds of a deficit of good
governance on the part of Zanu PF. It has always been our contention that the
authorship of restrictive measures is located on the doorstep of Zanu PF.
In the spirit of the GPA, the MDC had pledged to assist Zanu PF in
rescuing it from this quagmire. As a gesture of sincerity and in compliance with
the GPA, we had chosen to chlorinate Zanu PF. We refuse to be made accountable
for Zanu PF’s past sins of commission and omission. Zanu PF’s primitive tactics
of dilly-dallying and pussy footing in implementing the GPA are only assisting
in complicating matters.There is no need therefore for the opposition party to
grandstand about a fictitious position of the Principals on the two clearly
separate and unrelated matters of restrictive measures and provincial
governors.
The issue of restrictive measures is a process issue while the
issue of governors is a simple event of swearing-in the new governors according
to the agreed formula. At a meeting of the principals on 8 June, Mr Mugabe
insisted on linking the issue of restrictive measures to provincial governors, a
position the MDC President did not agree with as evidenced by his subsequent
letter to Mr Mac Maharaj, a member of President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team.
It is fortuitous to link the issue of governors, which is a domestic and
internal issue which we are in control of; to the issue of restrictive measures
which is an exogenous matter which none of the three parties to the GPA has
direct control.
For the record, Zanu PF had earlier argued that the
issue of governors could not be resolved in the middle of their illegal terms.
Now that the terms have expired, they are shifting goal-posts and linking the
issue of governors to a separate issue of restrictive measures. The MDC
President also wrote to Mr Mugabe alerting him to how he had reneged on an
earlier agreement to swear in Hon Roy Bennett once he was acquitted by the
courts. Mr Mugabe even publicly announced on CNN that Bennett would be sworn in
once he was found innocent by the courts. Hon Bennett remains innocent because
the noting of an appeal does not suspend his acquittal. In the same letter,
President Tsvangirai reiterated his position that the issue of governors and the
issue of restrictive measures were as separate as day and night.
The
MDC’s provincial governors are ready to be sworn in now that the terms of office
of the illegally-appointed governors have come to an end. We expect full
compliance with the provisions of the GPA. We urge all parties to the inclusive
government to respect their own agreement. Zanu PF cannot be allowed to
frontload the issue of restrictive measures at the expense of implementing the
GPA in its entirety.
As a party of excellence, we expect compliance by
all parties to the recommendations of the SADC troika organ and the SADC summit
in Windhoek who called for an immediate resolution of all the outstanding issues
within 30 days and an uninterrupted path towards free and fair elections. Most
importantly, SADC called for a free and fair election where intimidation and
violence play not part and where the result will be credible.
We
unequivocally condemn the Zanu PF tactics of waylaying and mugging the
expectations of the people of Zimbabwe by prioritising their own issues and
concerns at the expense of a holistic approach to the sacred document to which
we all appended our signatures.
We are ready to comply with the dictates
of SADC. We have always been ready to abide by our own signature in the GPA. We
are ready to implement the agreed positions and the agreed formula on the issue
of governors. No amount of Zanu PF’s grandstanding and quacking will change our
resolve to fully implement the GPA so that the inclusive government can begin to
transact the business of the people by bringing real change in their
lives.
Real change is irreversible and the will of the people of
Zimbabwe will triumph over mischief and unbridled political chicanery.
Together, united, winning, ready for real change.
A new
Zimbabwe, a new beginning.
--
MDC Information
& Publicity Department
Harvest House
44 Nelson Mandela Ave
Harare
Zimbabwe
Tel: 00263 4 793 250
The MDC MP for Bikita South in Masvingo province, Hon. Jani Varandeni was yesterday detained for more than 10 hours at Masvingo Central police station on trumped-up charges of attacking over 60 Zanu PF supporters at a rally at Mashoko business in Bikita South. Hon. Varandeni was on his way to a Copac outreach meeting when he was arrested and detained for 10 hours.
However, he was released after the police failed to get further evidence to warrant his detention overnight. The trumped allegation against Hon. Varandeni is that he stormed a Zanu PF rally last week and started assaulting people with sticks.
In Kadoma, MDC Ward 4 councillor, Bothwell Pasipamire was yesterday released on free bail at the Kadoma magistrate’s court on yet another trumped-up charge of undermining the President. He was arrested at his home last week and is facing charges of saying that; “Mr Mugabe is an old beast ready for slaughter,” at a ward meeting. The court ruled that the case would proceed by way of summons as the police were still investigating the issue.
The MDC acting Mashonaland Central provincial chairperson, Godfrey Chimombe was today acquitted by a Bindura magistrate on trumped-up charges of undermining the President. Chimombe was arrested in Mt Darwin in February this year after addressing a rally. Police at the rally claimed that Chimombe had said that Mr Robert Mugabe was epileptic. However, the magistrate dismissed the claim as the State had failed to bring in witnesses to testify in court. The magistrate said it was actually the State that was undermining the President by bringing falsehoods to the courts.
Yesterday, the acting Bindura mayor, Ivory Matanhire, Jonathan Kapasi, the MDC Mashonaland Central provincial secretary and eight MDC activists appeared in court on trumped-up charges of destroying the houses of two Zanu PF supporters in June 2008 in Chipadze suburb. They were remanded out of custody on free bail to 4 October. The complainants are; Betty Chikava, the Zanu PF MP for Mt Darwin East and Wellington Chitehwe, a Zanu PF supporter.
In Manicaland province, Copac meetings were yesterday abandoned after the 10
Copac teams in the province failed to secure fuel from the Central Equipment and
Mechanical Department (CMED). Hundreds of people who wanted to participate in
the meetings were left stranded after the teams failed to travel from Mutare to
Chipinge.
--
MDC Information & Publicity Department
Harvest
House
44 Nelson Mandela Ave
Harare
Zimbabwe
Tel: 00263 4 793 250
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Edward Jones Friday 20 August
2010
HARARE - Regional leaders this week avoided confronting
Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe to honour terms of a 2008 political
agreement, and instead set
a deadline for its full implementation, which
analysts said the veteran
leader would ignore in a bid to keep his MDC
opponents from gaining ground
ahead of future elections.
The Southern
African Development Community (SADC) adopted recommendations by
South
African President Jacob Zuma, the Zimbabwean facilitator, for the
country's
three political parties to resolve outstanding issues within a
month but did
not say what would happen if the timeframe was missed.
Political analysts
say the regional bloc has repeatedly failed to stand up
to Mugabe, a
founding leader of SADC, and one of the two longest serving
leaders in the
region.
The 30-day deadline puts pressure on Mugabe and his ZANU-PF
party, who have
been refusing to swear-in Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) treasurer Roy
Bennett as deputy agriculture minister and senior
officials to the
influential posts of provincial governors to come good on
their part of the
deal.
But past time limits set by the SADC troika
on defence and politics have not
been met, eroding any hope that the
situation will be different this time.
"The challenge is the
implementation of the SADC resolution," Eldred
Masunungure, a leading
political commentator said. "There will obviously be
excuses for stalling
and there are no prices for guessing which party will
do this."
Some
political analysts said while Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC
and
ZANU-PF all seemed contend with the outcome of the summit, it was Mugabe's
party which had much to gain.
The summit reiterated in a communiqué
its call for the West to lift "all
forms of sanctions" imposed on Mugabe and
his associates, saying this was
negatively affecting Zimbabwe and the
region.
Mugabe has successfully lobbied regional leaders to condemn
Western
sanctions imposed on his associates and his family and effectively
refuses
to cede any concessions to the MDC until the financial and travel
embargo is
scrapped.
"In reality ZANU-PF may have won the day. You
and I know that these
sanctions are not going and the 30 day deadline (set
by Zuma) will come and
go without a resolution," John Makumbe, a University
of Zimbabwe political
science lecturer said.
"The full summit of SADC
has at last given a deadline this time but it doesn't
say what happens if it
is not met," Makumbe said.
Tsvangirai's MDC emerged happy that the
regional group had re-affirmed its
call for the bloc to come up with a
road-map for free and fair elections to
wind down the fragile unity
government that is credited with stabilizing
Zimbabwe's economy and reigning
hyper-inflation.
ZANU-PF has talked up the need for elections next year
but analysts say the
faction
riddled party is only bluffing and is
not ready for a vote at time it
remains divided over its candidate, Mugabe,
who turns 87 years next year.
Mugabe lost the first round of elections to
Tsvangirai in 2008 but regained
power after a brutal run-off campaign that
forced Tsvangirai to quit the
race and political commentators say the
octogenarian leader would lose again
in a relatively free and fair
vote.
The election road-map includes adopting a new constitution, drawing
up a
fresh voters' roll, an end to political violence and passing of new
electoral rules by Parliament.
Zuma said SADC should help Zimbabwe to
craft the road-map and favourable
conditions to make sure outcome of the
next election would not be contested.
"There is an asymmetrical political
will, in that two of the political
parties exhibit the will to implement the
political agreement while the
other will be reluctant to implement anything
that it deems unfavourable and
not advancing its interests," Masunungure
said.
"But on balance, the summit tried to heal polarised
positions."
Analysts say next year is too early for elections in a
country where the
voters' roll remains chaotic and inaccurate while an
exercise to write a new
constitution that should ensure a free and fair vote
has been delayed by
several months and even then continues to progress at a
snail's pace. -
ZimOnline.