SADC Sets Roadmap to Elections
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Distributed free of charge as a service to the people of Zimbabwe PRIMEPRIME MINISTERMINISTERTHE NEWSLETTER FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER www.zimbabweprimeminister.org 19 August 2010 SADC sets roadmap to elections The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has acknowledged the impasse in the implementation of the Global 3ROLWLFDO$JUHHPHQW *3$ LQ =LPEDEZH DQG HQGRUVHG DQ H[LW strategy by the Facilitator, South African President Jacob Zuma, to the Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security, which outlines a roadmap to a free, fair and credible election. In his report, which was adopted by the Troika and by the SADC Summit, President Zuma said Zimbabwe’s political parties should ¿QG³DQXQLQWHUUXSWHGSDWKWRZDUGVIUHHDQGIDLUHOHFWLRQVDQGWKH removal of impediments as and when they arise”. “The Troika should persuade SADC to help Zimbabwe to draw up guidelines for a free and fair election, where intimidation and violence would not play any part and where the result of such elections would be credible,” said President Zuma. Key to the election roadmap is the direction to the signatories of the GPA to resolve all outstanding issues within 30 days. The SADC Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security committed itself to assisting the political parties to meet this goal within the set timeframe. The SADC Troika, which is chaired by President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, met in Windhoek ahead of the 30th SADC summit that began in the Namibian capital on Monday and received a report from President Jacob Zuma. The meeting was also attended by the Principals to the GPA, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his Deputy Arthur Mutambara and President Robert Mugabe. The negotiators from Zimbabwe’s three political parties also attended the meeting. President Zuma encouraged the Troika to work with the parties to ensure that the outstanding issues are resolved in order to facilitate progress towards rebuilding the country. He also committed himself to return to Harare to ensure that the deadline is met. Addressing a press conference yesterday, MDC secretary general Tendai Biti, who is also Finance Minister, said: “The Facilitator (President Zuma)’s report and recommendations were adopted E\ WKH 6XPPLW :H QRZ ORRN IRUZDUG WR WKH H[HFXWLRQ RI WKLV roadmap by SADC, by the Organ Troika and indeed by the parties in Zimbabwe. This is important to ensure that legitimacy is restored in Zimbabwe and that the people’s quest for real change is Tendai Biti, MDC secretary general achieved,” said Biti. ,WZDVQRWHGWKDWWKHWHUPRIWKH3URYLQFLDO*RYHUQRUVH[SLUHGRQ President Mugabe, who has in the past year refused to implement Issues outstanding from the GPA include the unilateral 31st July and therefore, according to the country’s Constitution, new the agreed positions and condoned violations of the GPA, was appointments of the Attorney General Johannes Tomana, Reserve appointments can only be made after consultation and agreement JLYHQRQHPRQWKWRIXO¿OOWKH$JUHHPHQW Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and Roy Bennett as between Prime Minister Tsvangirai and President Mugabe. Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Mugabe has refused to swear in Senator Bennett, saying that he must be cleared of terrorism charges by the courts. Although Bennett was acquitted in May, Mugabe has since refused to swear him in. SADC, the guarantors of the GPA, offered to provide guidance and Tribunal still under probe material support to ensure the country holds free and fair elections. In addition to resolving the outstanding issues, the other key The SADC summit which ended in Windhoek on Tuesday government is in contempt. But still Chinamasa and President elements to the election roadmap include the completion of the failed to bring about a clear resolution on the legitimacy Mugabe have publicly declared that the resolutions of the constitution-making process, the holding of the referendum and Tribunal are “null and void”. of the body´s Tribunal, which is also situated in the ensuring that concrete steps are taken to create conditions for Namibian capital. The failure of the summit to address the issue could threaten elections that are free, fair, credible, legitimate and violence free. the credibility of the block, said Kallie Kriel from the South A respective report by the Justice Ministers of all the member African rights group AfriForum. “The rule of law in the The SADC position on elections was at variance with the stance states has not been completed in time. Instead of being SADC countries depends on this,” he said. adopted by Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara and his party who presented at the summit which ended yesterday, the issue of H[SUHVVHG WKDW WKH FRXQWU\ VKRXOG PRYH WRZDUGV HOHFWLRQV ODWHU the Tribunal might now only be addressed at the following “If the rulings of SADC institutions are not adhered to, the rather earlier. full summit in 2011. credibility of SADC itself is at risk.” In South Africa, the rulings of the Tribunal have already been registered in the Past elections have been marred by violence with the Movement for This means that Zimbabwe, to the disappointment of many courts and are therefore binding. Democratic Change (MDC) saying more than 200 of its members stakeholders, cannot be forced to comply with the rulings of $MXGJHRIWKH6$'&7ULEXQDOVWDWHGEHIRUHWKDW&KLQDPDVDV were killed in the run up to the June 2008 event. the Tribunal, which has on several occasions ruled against argument is misleading. Whereas the Justice Minister claims the Government. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has WKDWRQO\¿YHRIWKHPHPEHUVWDWHVKDYHUDWL¿HGDSURWRFRO Minister Biti said violence is a “disenfranchising instrument and repeatedly claimed that Zimbabwe is not bound by the for the implementation of the Tribunal, the Malawian Judge is unacceptable”. 7ULEXQDOVUXOLQJVDVLWKDVQRWUDWL¿HGWKHMXGLFLDOERG\ Charles Mkandawire, also registrar of the Tribunal, stated WKDW WKLV ZDV QRW QHFHVVDU\ DW DOO DV WKH UDWL¿FDWLRQ RI WKH “We are happy to note that the Facilitator talks to the issue of In 2008, the Tribunal, in a landmark decision, ordered the 6$'&7UHDW\ZDVVXI¿FLHQW violence in his report. We also hope that mechanisms will be put Zimbabwean government to compensate owners for the in place to deal with the issue of violence before and after the farms that were seized and to protect the farmers’ rights to 7KH6$'&7UHDW\ZDVUDWL¿HGLQLQDQQH[XUHV elections,” said Biti. to the Treaty have been agreed on, and a year later the their land. It furthermore said the land reform programme SADC Tribunal was made an integral part of the Treaty. was discriminating as only Whites have been targeted. According to Mkandawire, this did not require for another SADC also established a regional re-engagement committee made IRUPDO UDWL¿FDWLRQ 6XUSULVLQJO\ =LPEDEZH KDV DOWKRXJK up of the Chairperson of SADC, Chairperson of the Troika and All these orders have all been ignored in Zimbabwe, leading it disregards the Tribunal, initially sent an own Judge to the Facilitator to assist Zimbabwe in its re-engagement with the to the Tribunal consequently ruling three times that the the panel. international community for normalisation of relations. See President Zuma’s full report on Page 4 Women should drive own destiny – Khupe Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe has urged women to be honest, assertive and to have respect for each other for them to take charge of their destiny, as well as make an impact in business and politics. Despite being the biggest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Zimbabwe, women still lag behind in terms of business and political leadership. Addressing a 20-member women’s delegation from Namibia, the Forum For the Future group, DPM Khupe said the time had come for women to position themselves for economic empowerment. “My passion is to help women, I want women to take charge of their destiny. Here in Zimbabwe, ZRPHQFRQVWLWXWHSHUFHQWRIWKHSRSXODWLRQ they work ten times harder than men and they contribute more than 80 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of our country,” said Khupe. “But at the end of the day we (women) do not have anything, we do not own anything. :H DUH MXVW KDUG ZRUNHUV $V ZRPHQ ZH DUH saying enough is enough. It is high time we '307KRNR]DQL.KXSHÀDQNHGE\PHPEHUVRID1DPLELDQwomen’s delegation take charge, by making sure that women are deliver real change and make the country prosper come to Zimbabwe because we have so much in Tusnelda Simpson, one of the participants empowered economically.” again,” she said. common with your country. The purpose of the praised DPM’s words, saying they had been YLVLWLVWROHDUQDQGWRJHWH[SHULHQFHIURPRXU inspired by the DPM. While it is easy for men to enter and establish The leader of the Namibian group, Kambanda counterparts, and we will also tell you something themselves in the business world, Khupe Veii, said the purpose of their visit was to learn “I am going back to Namibia with a new mind. said breaking into business was a huge hassle about the situation of women in Zimbabwe. about our country,” she said. ,Q 1DPLELD LW LV GLI¿FXOW WR WDON WR D PLQLVWHU for women. because they do not have time for us. I am “Our group is from different lives, we are very The Forum For the Future group consists of civic inspired by you, Ms Khupe, because you are “We organised a women’s summit last year, passionate about women issues and we have societies, political activists, and teachers. there for the people,” said Simpson. where we invited women from different sectors such as mining, agriculture, manufacturing and ¿QDQFH:HXUJHGHDFKRWKHUWRLGHQWLI\VHFWRUV where we can do business, as we want women to be miners and farmers in their own right,” she said. Gold production up Realising the challenges women face in Zimbabwe is on course to double last year’s =LPEDEZHSURGXFHGWRQQHVRIJROGLQ Robert Mugabe last year, some mines accessing capital for setting up business, Khupe gold output after producing 4.03 tonnes in the and the Chamber of Mines says gold output have re-opened while some have said she came up with an idea of a women’s bank ¿UVWKDOIRIWKLV\HDU for 2010 could be higher than the initially increased production.