Zim will never attack Sadc

(Sadc) and Harare will never attack the regional bloc or any of its members, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said yesterday.
Minister Mumbengegwi said this after meeting ambassadors of Sadc countries accredited to Zimbabwe at Munhumutapa Government offices yesterday.
“Government has never and will never attack Sadc. We are friends and allies. If there was any attack, it was not from Government but from somewhere . . . You cannot do that . . . You know who speaks on behalf of Government or Zanu-PF . . . they have never said anything,” he said.
Minister Mumbengegwi was speaking to journalists on the response of some of the Sadc ambassadors on recent reports in the local and international media that insinuated that the Government of Zimbabwe had attacked Sadc-appointed facilitator and President of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma.
The media were quoting an editorial in one of the publications in the country.
Minister Mumbengegwi told the ambassadors during their two-hour meeting that there was no such position and Zimbabwe and Sadc relations were solid.
He said the meeting with the Sadc diplomats was part of ongoing consultations the Government had adopted to create an understanding between the country and representatives of its neighbours.
These are critical as they have a better understanding of the developments in Zimbabwe unlike Western diplomats.
Commenting on reports that President Zuma presented an election roadmap to the regional bloc’s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation Troika meeting held in Livingstone- Zambia, Minister Mumbengegwi said there were no discussions to be done outside the Global Political Agreement.
“On the election roadmap, it is fully contained in the GPA. I briefed the ambassadors on the implementation of the GPA as you know they are our friends,” he said.
Some Western countries including Britain and the United States have stated their interest in Zimbabwe’s forthcoming elections with London saying it was prepared to fund the roadmap while Washington said it was monitoring the situation with a view to influence the outcome of the polls.
Said Minister Mumbengegwi: “We are capable of funding our own elections. We have never accepted any offers from anyone.
“Sadc has also never offered us some assistance to fund elections,” he said.
Speaking after the meeting, Democratic Republic of Congo Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Mwapanga Mwana-nanga said the meeting clarified a number of issues.
“We have been briefed on a number of issues and a lot has been clarified,” he said.

Malawi Ambassador to Zimbabwe Professor Richard Phoya urged the Government to convene such meetings more often as they corrected some misconceptions created by the media about the situation in Zimbabwe.
“The reports in the media always distort what is happening in the country and if we continue to have such meetings, we will have a better understanding of the issues . . . we hope these meetings will be more frequent. We were interested with what happened in Livingstone and the issues have been explained,” he said.
He said such briefings were critical because they enabled them to advise their principals the correct position on Zimbabwe.
“We should know more about Zimbabwe . . . we should not wonder about what is happening in Zimbabwe. The major statement that I want to make is that the issues in Zimbabwe are for Zimbabweans. As brothers, we just suggest some advice and it’s the Zimbabweans who should map the way forward. We are noticing that there is no difference on the way forward among leaders . . . the leadership understands each other. It’s the lower levels that have a problem and we need that corrected,” he said.