adminWe are made to believe that Sadc can dictate to Zimbabweans or any member state for that matter, exactly what to do in their countries. Yet the opposite is true: it is the people of Zimbabwe who should and must chart their own destiny.
The Sadc Troika, which met in the Angolan capital Luanda last Friday, reports to the full summit of Sadc heads, who in the end urged the parties to the Zimbabwean Global Political Agreement (GPA) to agree on the timeline for the harmonised elections.
We believe the negotiators of the three parties to the GPA were already seized with this matter and have been negotiating over sticking points to the full implementation of the agreement. It is our hope that they will agree on an elections roadmap which will be implemented timeously.
According to a communiqué released at the end of the summit, the Sadc heads “commended stakeholders for their commitment, co-operation and efforts towards the implementation of the Global Political Agreement and urged the parties to the GPA to finalise the constitution-making process and subject it to a referendum thereafter”.
“Summit also urged the parties to the GPA, assisted by His Excellency Jacob G Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa and Sadc Facilitator of the Zimbabwe Political Dialogue, to develop an implementation mechanism and to set out time frames for the full implementation of the Roadmap to Elections.”
It is a known fact that Zanu-PF wants elections this year while the MDC formations want them next year. The major sticking point has been the delay in the conclusion of constitution-making.
The reason why Zanu-PF wants elections this year are chiefly to get rid of the inclusive Government, whose mandate has expired and is now slowing progress in the implementation of Government projects.
The MDC formations have been calling for elections to be pushed to next year as they claim there are still outstanding issues to be ironed out.
But it is clear to everyone that the country is in election mode. That uncertainty of when polls would be held is not good for the country as it battles to build its economy and attract investors. This means the polls must be done and gotten over with so the country can move forward.
It is clear to everyone that Zimbabwe is being run by a dysfunctional Government and the sooner this situation is rectified through an election, the better for the country.
We therefore find nothing from Luanda for Zimbabweans to celebrate over. If anything, the message was loud and clear that the parties to the GPA should expedite the holding of elections.
The country cannot forever be run by a makeshift Government, which has exceeded its mandate and is now surviving on borrowed time. The issue of elections in the country is therefore solely a responsibility of the people of Zimbabwe.
Foreigners can do so much, but cannot dictate what should be done in Zimbabwe as that would be tantamount to meddling.
It is none but ourselves who need to get our act together as Zimbabweans and agree on the way forward.
Granted, the inclusive Government has brought some form of stability — both political and economic — but everyone agrees that there is discord in that Government. As a result of this discord, a lot of programmes and projects meant to benefit the people of Zimbabwe have gone unimplemented because of cheap politicking.
That is solely the reason why Zanu-PF is pushing for early elections. It is a fact that those who are slowing down issues like the completion of the constitution-making process to pave way for the elections are doing so for their own selfish agendas.
President Mugabe has on numerous occasions called for speedy completion of the constitution-making exercise as the country cannot be held to ransom by this process.
We hope the facilitator to the GPA, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, will see the urgency of this issue and will attend to it speedily for the sake of progress in Zimbabwe.
As we have said, in the end the issue of elections and when they should be held should be left to the people of Zimbabwe to decide. This should not be about settling scores and claiming victory, but what is good for this great country.
Online Reporter