Security chiefs out of our mandate, says SA team

security chiefs because that is outside its mandate, senior member of the team Mr Charles Nqakula said yesterday.
In an interview after meeting Jomic co-chairpersons in Harare, Mr Nqakula – a political advisor to President Jacob Zuma – said the Global Political Agreement signed by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations did not provide for such an arrangement.

He said the facilitation team was focusing on the implementation of issues agreed in the GPA.
“There was nothing like that (security sector reforms). We have no intention to meet the security chiefs in Zimbabwe.

“There is no arrangement like that in the GPA. We are going through a process of negotiations and we now have a draft roadmap on elections, but we are not talking about transformative issues,” he said.
Mr Nqakula’s remarks came in the wake of re-ports in some sections of the private media claiming that President Zuma’s facilitation team was keen to meet the country’s security chiefs.

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Mr Nqakula once served as Minister of Defe-nce as well as Safety and Security Minister in the SA government.
However, it is understood that MDC-T – through its negotiators – is trying to smuggle the issue of security sector reforms on the agenda of the election roadmap to weaken the country’s security forces.

MDC-T – under the influence of its Western backers – had proposed that Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces General Constantine Chiwenga and Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri be retired before the next elections.

Zanu-PF, however, dismissed the suggestions as nonsensical and tantamount to weakening the country’s security forces.
Mr Nqakula said the facilitation team would return to Zimbabwe on Thursday to finalise the draft roadmap agreed to in Cape Town early this month.

“We might be coming later this week to meet negotiators.
“We want to finalise drafting of the roadmap,” he said.

He said Zimbabwe was on the agenda of the forthcoming Comesa-Sadc-EAC Tripartite Mee-ting Summit to be held in South Africa next month.
Turning to the Jomic meeting, Mr Nqakula said the facilitation team attended as observers.

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Zanu-PF Jomic co-chairperson, Cde Nicholas Goche, said the meeting was a routine one to receive updates from sub committees set by the organ.
“It was an ordinary Jomic meeting to receive updates from various committees.

“We received reports from the media and land committees. They were good reports and the committees have done more than we expected,” he said.
Cde Goche also confirmed that the facilitation team would return to Zimbabwe later in the week to meet negotiators.

Top on the agenda of the negotiators meeting is the issue of the election roadmap.
Mr Elton Mangoma of MDC-T added: “The facilitation team agreed that there is need for the negotiators to come with a report which they all agreed to.

“It was a follow up meeting to what we agreed on in Cape Town.
“We agreed that we should be looking at the minutes on what we have agreed on and so far things are going on well.”

MDC secretary-general Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga also said yesterday’s mee-ting was productive.