What will SADC ministers see?

All week, however, we waited for comment from Mr Mugabe and it came on Friday night – a week after Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s announcement of disengagement with Zanu (PF). Just back from an AU meeting and waiting to get into the Presidential limousine, Mugabe said that he would not give in to pressure. He said that Zanu (PF) had done everything that was required of them in the Global Political Agreement while the MDC had, in his words: “done nothing about sanctions,” or about silencing radio stations who were continuing to broadcast anti Zimbabwe reports every day.

Mugabe did not mention that SADC were concerned enough to be sending a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe in the next few days. Nor did he say anything about Roy Bennett whose arrest was the straw that broke the camel’s back and brought this whole mess to a head. As to the other outstanding issues of Governors, Ambassadors, the Attorney General and the Reserve bank head, these, Mr Mugabe said, would be dealt with by him, as was his prerogative. Mr Mugabe did not say when he would deal with these matters – now outstanding for nine months.

For most Zimbabweans it’s going to be very hard to follow what happens during the SADC visit because we are again being plunged into15 hour a day electricity cuts. Apparently this is due to maintenance at the Kariba power turbines. We do wonder, however, just what it is that SADC fact finders will see.

Will they see the supermarkets overflowing with food that just nine months ago were full of empty, rusty shelves. Will they see the now empty banks that nine months ago were crammed with thousands of people trying to withdraw the daily limit of their own money; a days maximum withdrawal which was enough to buy half a bar of soap on the black market.

Will SADC fact-finders see the mayhem still occurring on Zimbabwe’s farms despite their very own SADC tribunal rulings which have been ignored. Will they see MDC Deputy Minister of Agriculture Roy Bennett sworn in and working or still being hounded?

Will they get to read the Auditor Generals report on Ministerial accounts which has just been released? A report which says in part that: “US$21 738 for the Agricultural Revolving Fund was used for minister (Joseph Made)’s business cards, Internet router, head office provisions and hotel bill.” The Auditor General went on to state

that: “Accordingly, the minister should consider making arrangements to refund to the fund the monies thus spent.”

Being one of millions who went hungry and malnourished last year, and the year before, and the year before that, I think that asking the Minister to ‘consider’ refunding the money is being far, far too nice. How many people was it died of hunger these past few years?

Will SADC Ministers see ZBC TV news reports in the time they are finding facts in Zimbabwe or, more likely, will ZBC have picked up their disguise again and hidden their true colours once more?

Until next week, thanks for reading, Ndini shamwari yenyu