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From Patrick Chitumba in Victoria Falls
BRITAIN has pledged to continue assisting the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) which is now under the chairmanship of President Robert Mugabe, a diplomat said yesterday.Deborah Bronnert, London’s outgoing ambassador to Zimbabwe, said Britain had no interest in dictating the leadership of Sadc, despite the former colonial power’s frosty relations with Harare.
President Mugabe and Zimbabwe have been under European Union sanctions since 2002.
“Well, it is up to Sadc to decide who the leadership of Sadc should be and clearly that’s a matter for Sadc,” Bronnert told Chronicle shortly after attending the official opening of the 34th Sadc Heads of State summit in Victoria Falls.
“I’m sure that our relationship with Sadc will continue. We’ve always worked with Sadc and nothing will change.”
She added that London had always been supportive of the regional trade bloc, adding that it would be business as usual.
“I’m sure we will work with it (Sadc) as we’ve done in the past,” she said.
Bronnert leaves Zimbabwe at the end of this month and will be replaced by Catriona Laing, a career diplomat who has worked in Botswana, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa said it was significant that Britain was recognising Sadc under the leadership of President Mugabe.
“It’s a good development that Britain has said it’s going to support Sadc under President Mugabe. It marks a new era since London has been hostile to Harare,” he said.
Ambassador Mutsvangwa said Britain should now work on a complete lifting of the “illegal sanctions” which he said were causing havoc to the country’s economy.
“It would be an act of goodwill if Britain would now move towards removing the sanctions it imposed on us and it would be very good if Britain would also urge America to lift the sanctions,” Ambassador Mutsvangwa went on.
“President Barack Obama has also said there was need to revisit the sanctions issue since they are harming the ordinary people. So we really appreciate the stance by Britain as said by their representative to Zimbabwe.”
derick.khumalo