adminSadc Troika summit in Livingstone, Zambia, analysts have said.
The Troika is a technical committee of Sa-dc that reports to the full summit, which is unlikely to have problems with procedure as was manifest in Livingstone and whose heads of state and government will have been apprised of the situation on the ground by their envoys in Harare.
President Mugabe also sent envoys across the region to explain the true Zimbabwean story.
On the other hand, MDC-T has been emb-roiled in intra-party violence as well as against Zanu-PF.
The Government says Zimbabwe’s objectives on the forthcoming summit are to co-mmunicate the accurate situation in the country, draw clarity on the election road-map and defend the unity of Sadc.
Observers say as the dust has settled after the Troika meeting, it is time for Sadc to move forward and awaken to the machinations of the West that seeks to divide and destabilise Africa’s most progressive body.
South African President Jacob Zuma – who is a facilitator to the inter-party dialogue in Zimbabwe – will or has already presented his report to Troika chair, Zambian President Rupiyah Banda, who in turn will brief the full summit which will be chaired by Sadc chairman, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Political analysts yesterday said the new stance will be influenced by the revelations that MDC-T had deliberately misreprese-nted the facts on the ground and misled the Troika, but later exposed itself through word and deed.
Analyst Mr Gabriel Chaibva said he fore-saw Sadc heads discarding resolutions of the Livingstone meeting.
“This is because they were grounded in falsehoods and propaganda by the MDC-T,” said Mr Chaibva.
“There is no way heads of state can accept such a unilateral position crafted and offe-red by outside forces with the ugly head of the MDC-T.”
He noted that MDC-T could not play victim to violence as it had “shown to be the force behind the violence and the instability in the country.
‘‘They are in fact, the masters of violence and not victims,” he said.
Mr Chaibva said Sadc leaders should ma-ke it clear that elections should be held this year.
“The inclusive Government has shown to be dysfunctional and there is no way that the GPA is going to be fulfilled.
“There is no way MDC-T will call for the removal of illegal sanctions imposed by the West and the pirate radio stations like Studio 7 and SW Radio continue to illegally broadcast into the country.
“There is no cohesion in the inclusive Government,” he said.
Mr Chaibva said Zimbabwe could proceed with elections even in the absence of a new constitution, arguing that the nation could not be held to ransom by a party employing delaying tactics and could campaign for the rejection of the document in a referendum.
He dismissed the idea that there was a silent coup and that President Mugabe was incapacitated to run the country as workings of the imagination, also mirroring the confusion on Mr Tsvangirai who recently in Cape Town had to dispel the same.
Another analyst, Professor Jonathan Mo-yo, said the intervening period had shown everything wrong with the Troika resolutions.
He said: “Everybody now knows that there were games that the British and the Americans played with (Mr) Morgan Tsvangirai to mislead Sadc on Zimbabwe.
“They wanted to influence the region’s understanding of the situation with claims that the President had lost control and that there was a silent coup and so forth.
“The MDC-T presented a dossier full of fabrications.”
With revelations to the contrary, Prof Mo-yo noted, the true Zimbabwean story should be back on track during the summit.
“The GPA sets priorities and one of them is economic recovery, but sanctions make that impossible.
“The Sadc heads should recognise that sanctions do not only destabilise Zimbabwe but also the region. Even the so-called roadmap puts sanctions as top of its major items.
“Focus had been lost and it is the expectation that Sadc leaders will not be influenced through the back door, but engage in frank, candid and transparent discussions.”
Prof Moyo also voiced concern at the conduct of the South African President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team and in particular its spokesperson Mrs Lindiwe Zulu who has been making controversial statements in the media.
He noted that Zimbabwe’s negotiations attracted unhealthy interest unlike situations in Lesotho and Madagascar because while the team for the former tried to negotiate through the media, the latter cases were handled more diplomatically.
University of Zimbabwe lecturer Dr Joseph Kurebwa clarified that while the Troika was composed of a few heads of State, the Sadc summit would comprise of all regional leaders.
And given the fact that the former had reached decisions, outlined in its communique on the basis of MDC-T presentations, things could change this time around.
He said: “I understand that Zanu-PF has made its own position clear and the Summit might reconsider the findings of the Troika.”
The Troika meeting torched a storm after making resolutions based on inaccurate and one-sided presentation by MDC-T, one of the parties to the inclusive Government in Zimbabwe.
The party, inter alia, alleged that President Mugabe was now incapacitated to run the country, that there was a silent coup in Zimbabwe and that there was resurgence of violence against MDC-T members.
Sadc Troika resolutions were hailed by the MDC-T and its allies abroad which raised the fear that the Troika had opened a window of opportunity for Zimbabwe’s detractors to meddle in the country’s affairs.
Bongani Ndlovu