Vigil supporters were pleased to see that Tanzanian President Kikwete, the new Chair of the SADC Security Troika, has called a meeting for October 7 and 8 to deal with Zanu (PF)’s refusal to accept the COPAC draft constitution they signed. The Vigil believes that the Troika has no alternative but to call Mugabe’s bluff for disregarding the GPA.
It also noted the remarks by Botswana’s President Khama at a state banquet for visiting President Zuma that ‘nothing less than free and fair elections in Zimbabwe should be acceptable to the international community. SADC, as the guarantor of the GPA, must ensure transparency not only of the elections but also of the process leading to the polls’. Khama also stressed the need for SADC monitors as well as the wider international community to participate in observing the process “before, during and even after the elections.”
While Vigil supporters are very appreciative of Botswana’s generous loan of $70 million to Zimbabwe, we would caution them that Zanu (PF) never pays its debts – from China to Iran, from Malawi to Zambia, Zimbabwe has yet to be recorded as paying up. Tendai Biti, in his begging bowl tour of SADC, will no doubt tell you that your only hope of getting these loans repaid is to get Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) out of power.
Post published in: World News