adminHebert Zharare Political Editor
The Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee’s lifespan has legally come to an end with the demise of the Global Political Agreement amid indications that some parties want the body’s mandate to be extended beyond the inclusive Government. Jomic was formed in 2008 according to Section 22 of the GPA and composed of members of Zanu-PF and MDC formations and some of its duties included ensuring the implementation of the agreement. There was no mention of the extension of the body’s mandate beyond the life of the inclusive Government at its inception.
Jomic co-chairs were comrades Patrick Chinamasa, Nicholas Goche and Oppah Muchinguri (Zanu-PF), Mr Tendai Biti, Mr Elton Mangoma and Mrs Tabitha Khumalo (MDC-T) and Mrs Pricilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Mr Edward Mkhosi and Mr Frank Chamunorwa of MDC and other parties representatives at provincial and district levels.
Speaking to The Herald last Wednesday, MDC secretary general, Mrs Misihairabwi-Mushonga, said although the inclusive Government’s mandate legally ended with the collapse of the inclusive Government, Jomic members were yet to meet to discuss its fate.
“Legally the lifespan of Jomic has come to end with the inclusive Government. Re-organising it is something else. If the GPA is over, there is no basis of keeping Jomic. However, there are various options that can be considered by consensus given the good job Jomic was doing,” said Mrs Mushonga.
She said some informal discussions among members of the monitoring body were that Jomic’s lifespan be extended beyond the inclusive Government given the peace and reconciliation roles it played since its inception in 2008.
“Some informal discussions are that Jomic had created some peace and reconciliation structures and we do not need to immediately disband it. We want them to continue with conflict resolution,” she said.
However, it appears all is not well with Jomic because after observing the harmonised elections that were certified free, fair and credible by majority of the observers, the largely donor funded body is yet to release its official report on polls. This comes against a backdrop of allegations that some donors who wanted to use Jomic to condemn the polls were not happy with the outcome, hence efforts to keep the report under wraps.
Mrs Mushonga said the general understanding among members was that the body had done a tremendous job in peace and reconciliation initiatives that she said were supposed to guide the country in the future outside the GPA.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora, however, said his party had no plans to make Jomic live beyond the inclusive Government.
Jomic had become one of the biggest monitoring bodies in the country with huge materials and monetary resources that some members were now abusing for the benefit of the MDC formations leading to Zanu-PF threatening to quit the body.
Online Reporter