SADC Communiqué

The Zimbabwe Guardian (London)

DOCUMENT
15 April 2008
Posted to the web 15 April 2008
Lusaka

THIS is the full text of a summit communiqué issued by Sadc Heads of Government on Saturday 12 April, 2008.

Current Sadc Chairperson and Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa called an extra-ordinary summit to discuss electoral developments in Zimbabwe.



1. The Extra-ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government or their representatives of SADC met in Lusaka, Zambia to discuss the political developments in Zimbabwe following the recent Presidential, Senatorial, National Assembly and Local Authority elections held on 29 March 2008.


2. The meeting was chaired by His Excellency, President Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa S.C, Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and President of the Republic of Zambia.

3. The Extra-ordinary Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and Government:
Zambia
H.E President Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa S.C,
Chairperson of SADC
Angola
H.E President Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Chairperson of Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation
Botswana
H.E President LT. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama
Democratic Republic of Congo
H.E President Joseph Kabila
Mozambique
H.E President Armando Emilio Guebuza
Namibia
H.E President Hifikepunye Pohamba
South Africa
H.E President Thabo Mbeki
Malawi
H.E President Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika
Lesotho
Hon. Deputy Prime Minister Lesao Lehohla
Mauritius
Hon. James B. David, Minister for Local Government
Swaziland
Hon. Charles S. Magongo, Minister for Public Service and Information
Tanzania
Hon. Seif. A. Iddi, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Zimbabwe
Hon. Emmerson D. Mnangagwa, Minister of Rural Housing and Social Amenities
Madagascar
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Dennis Andiamandroso

4. In his opening remarks, the SADC Chairperson welcomed their Excellencies, Head of State and Government to Lusaka, Zambia and indicated that the purpose of the Extra-ordinary Summit was to discuss the recent events in Zimbabwe following the elections in Zimbabwe in an open, objective and honest manner. In this regard, SADC re-affirmed its commitment to assist the parties to deal with the current situation.

5. The Extra-ordinary Summit was held inline with the SADC's objectives to promote common political values and systems transmitted through institutions that are democratic, legitimate and effective to facilitate the consolidation of democracy, peace, security and stability.

6. The Summit welcomed and congratulated H.E President LT. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President of Botswana on his assumption of office.

7. The Extra-ordinary Summit noted and appreciated the briefing by H.E President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Chairperson on the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation on the Report of the SADC Electoral Observer Mission deployed in Zimbabwe during the election.

8. The Summit noted that the Report of the Chairperson of Organ, on the elections in Zimbabwe indicated that the electoral process was acceptable to all parties. Summit commended the Chairperson of the Organ for the manner in which the Observer Mission was handled. At the time of holding the Extra-ordinary summit, the results of the Presidential election had not been announced by the election authorities

9. The Summit commended the people of Zimbabwe for their peaceful and orderly manner in which they conducted themselves before, during and after the elections

10. The Summit commended the Government of Zimbabwe for ensuring that the elections were conducted in a peaceful environment

11. The Summit congratulated and thanked the SADC Facilitator, President Mbeki and his Facilitation team, for the role they had played in helping to contribute to the successful holding of elections. Summit requested President Mbeki to continue in his role as a Facilitator on Zimbabwe on the outstanding issues.

12. The Extra-ordinary Summit noted and appreciated the brief by the delegation of the Government of Zimbabwe on the elections held in Zimbabwe. The Government of Zimbabwe indicated that the elections were held in a free and peaceful environment. The Government expresses concerns at instances of inaccuracy of some figures relating to the House of Assembly, Senate and Presidential elections

13. Members States, with exception of Zimbabwe, held informal consultations with Presidential candidates, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Independent candidate, Dr. Simba Makoni. Both, opposition leaders confirmed that the elections were held in a free, fair and peaceful environment. Whilst they do not have a problem with the election results of senatorial, Parliamentary and Local Authority elections, they expressed concerns on the delay in announcing the results as well as lack of their participation in the verification process of the Presidential results currently being conducted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)

14. The Summit urged the electoral authorities in Zimbabwe that verification and release of results are expeditiously done in accordance with due process of law. Summit also urged all the parties in the electoral process in Zimbabwe to accept the results when they are announced. By due process of law, Summit understood to mean that:
a) the verification and counting must be done in the presence of candidates and/or their agents, if they so wish, who must all sign the authenticity of such verification and counting
b) SADC offers to send Election Observer Mission who would be present throughout such verification and counting.

15. If such verification and counting makes it necessary for the parties to go for a run-off, the Government is urged to ensure that the run-off elections are held in secure environment. SADC offers to send an Election Observer Mission.

16. The Summit appeals to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to ensure strict compliance of the rule of law and SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic elections.

17. The Summit expressed its deep appreciation for the gracious hospitality extended to them by the Government of Zambia.
Done at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Lusaka, Zambia, 13 April 2008.

There are no perfect leaders, parties or people. Yet one must understand without the slightest waivering that ZANU-PF is the most advanced political organization that African people have built in the world today.Where Grenada fell, the Congo fell, Ghana fell, etc., ZANU-PF lives on - making history and changing reality. No where in the world has millions of hecters of African land been taken back from the thevies who stole it. Did we think there would be no price to pay for this historic action? Did we think we had any other choice if we were to change the course of history for our people? Those who would take cheap shots at President Mugabe and then run and hide inside college lecture halls under a curtain of imperialist "tenure", or take pride in "shorting" the Sisters and Brothers of ZANU-PF while our neighborhoods are being run over and us shipped out, without stiff resistance, have no shame. This war brothers and sisters - plain and simple. Zimbabwe is the target, but the re-colonization of Africa is the goal.

Read a candid public self-criticism reflecting some of ZANU-PF's internal struggles. A party grows strong by facing its strengths and weaknesses with courage before the masses and taking direct and concrete actions to move forward.

The Herald, April 16, 2008

Zanu-PF must enforce discipline

By Chinondidyachii Chinondidya-Chinosekerera Marar

THE possible run-off in the presidential poll provides a splendid opportunity for Zanu-PF to recognise and accept as a matter of conscience that there have been some errors and faults in our actions: An important number of things we should have done but have not done at the right times, or not at all.

Here and there even among "responsible" party cadres, there has been a marked tendency to let things slide. People ask and wonder where all the fuel being sold at roadsides is coming from, or how sugar from Hippo Valley gets to the vendors who sell it at exorbitant prices on the parallel market.

In the event, Zanu-PF should come up with a clear and elaborate campaign strategy for the likely re-run in the presidential poll, and for the greater reason that it should court its wider national constituency of people who, for one reason or the other, had abstained from voting because they had not quite appreciated the danger posed by the stooge opposition parties.

The first of this campaign strategy is for the ruling party to engage in what can be termed a "targeted campaign", where President Mugabe goes out to growth points, townships and villages to meet people, shake hands with them, and explain to them, once again, his party’s many successes and his vision for the country.

Concurrently, Zanu-PF should ensure that the campaign is fronted by fresh faces, disciplined and articulate, people who are capable of rousing the electorate from the lethargy that characterised its voting in the first round.

In other words, Zanu-PF must dispense with those who, on previous occasions, have lied to the people, as these are generally perceived as dishonest and thus have lost credibility among the electorate.

Second, the ruling party must publicly re-affirm its commitment to discipline by pledging to root out corruption in society. This is an issue that Zanu-PF must confront head-long, for the simple reason that while people accept that our current economic problems are a result of the illegal sanctions imposed by the UK, US and their Western partners, they also have been led to believe that the spiralling prices of goods and services, shortage of foreign currency and high rents, all derive directly from lack of accountability, extravagance and rampant corruption in the banking, financial and transport sectors, as well as in Government, NGOs and parastatals, and too that it is corruption that is worsening these problems.

Occasionally, people whisper that So-and-So is corrupt. And the fact that the electorate tends to vote with their bellies means that they expect Government to take stern action against corrupt individuals.

As their day-to-day lives worsen, they get disappointed, naturally, when they think no action is being taken against those they perceive are responsible for the current economic hardships. Already there are unconfirmed reports that drought relief grain trucks being loaded in Zambia are vanishing into thin air between departure point and expectant destination.

Zanu-PF should understand that it is not only ideas that determine the voting patterns and choices of our people but the food and material benefits — indeed the people’s need to live better and in peace, and to have sadza on their tables, which corruption denies them.

From the point of view of perception, management of corruption is extremely important, because people believe that corruption is responsible for their inability to access sugar, cooking oil, salt, maize-meal, soap, bread, and other basic commodities. Yet those involved in corrupt activities are a tiny minority, and in some cases known, and known chiefly for flaunting their ill-gotten wealth. Why should our country and revolution be held back by this tiny minority of fickle opportunists?

Thus, during the campaign it may actually be necessary to sacrifice one or two of these corrupt scoundrels, the "big fish", to convince the electorate that we mean business, the business of cleansing the system of corrupt individuals.

This time nothing should be left to chance. Indeed, Zanu-PF must, in the words of Dambudzo Marechera: "Lynch those who hoard our national dream, lining their pockets with coins from the povho’s hymn." Therefore, the firmness with which the ruling party proposes to deal with the scourge of corruption is critical to the outcome of the run-off. There is also this added dimension that corruption itself is both a cause and a symptom of indiscipline. And given that a revolution by its very nature demands discipline as, without it, no revolution can ever succeed, it is important that this matter is addressed quickly and with the thoroughness of a comb.

The godfathers of revolutionary action — Lenin, Mao, Guevara, Castro, and Cabral — saw to that, always reminding us that the behaviour and actions of party cadres determine the outcome of a revolution — any revolution.

Third, Zanu-PF must seriously commit itself to cutting public expenditure. For now, the perception among some people is that there is huge duplication of functions at ministerial levels, with some pointing out that certain ministries can be coalesced into one. For instance, the Agriculture portfolio — currently made up of four separate ministries — namely Lands, Resettlement and Rural Development; Agricultural Mechanisation; Agriculture; and Water Development — can be rolled into one ministry.

Likewise, the Ministry of Public and Interactive Affairs could very well be incorporated into the Ministry of Information and Publicity. Similarly, the Ministry of Rural Housing and Amenities can be collapsed into the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, and for the simple reason that local government by its very nature entails Government interface with rural people in developmental projects through district and rural councils.

Also, the Ministry of Finance, and of Economic Development, can stand as one ministry. The stand-alone Ministry of Policy Implementation is also seen as objectively unnecessary on the basis that every ministry crafts and implements policies, and thus doesn’t need to wait for an external green light to implement that which is part and parcel of its critical responsibility.

Fourth, Zanu-PF, instead of continuously harping about the disastrous effects of Western-imposed sanctions, must instead stand up and tell the people how it proposes to bust these sanctions, tell them the mechanisms it is putting in place to generate foreign currency.

As it happens, we have a lot to learn about sanctions-busting from Cuba, a country which for the past 40 years has not only been under United States sanctions, but also under siege from the same imperialist power. And from Lebanon, too, which in the early 1980s was literally occupied by Israeli and US-led forces, yet succeeded in overcoming sanctions imposed on it by using its own nationals who were then scattered throughout the Western world.

Methods of busting sanctions are not difficult to craft: all that may be required is targeting our own people in the Diaspora, largely in the UK, with the "things" that they need and that way it is possible to generate a lot of foreign currency for our country.

Some of us have suggested that all local authorities should put aside residential and commercial stands for sale to our nationals in the Diaspora. We have also suggested that Government should open up shops in the Diaspora to sell goods — foodstuffs, music, newspapers, flags etc — to our people there.

Simple things like these would make a huge difference, as long as the foreign currency generated thereby is not frittered away by the same band of reactionary bourgeoisie bent on putting brakes on our revolution!

Sixth, the thesis that has become identifiable with Nathaniel Manheru is relevant. Writing in The Herald of March 29 2008, the columnist observes: "Zanu-PF’s real challenge will not be the recovery of this economy under conditions of continued sanctions; rather, it will be the forging of a genuine national bourgeoisie with a sufficient national (read, patriotic) outlook to take charge of the economy." Manheru laments the "present mismatch of nationalist politics pretending to ride on the Rhodesia’s settler economy", and concludes by warning that "unless this obscene cohabitation is challenged, [then] Zimbabwe may very well be a colony again".

Which means what? Which means the ruling party must have the courage of its conviction to fish and flush out the many frogs in the party and key Government and commercial institutions that for far too long have been masquerading as fish. No more the stratum of people who are clearly in the service of imperialists, and who have learned to manipulate the apparatus of the State and commerce to selfish ends.

This need on the part of Zanu-PF to separate the grain from the chaff must of necessity extend to workplaces, themselves sites from which voters are drawn, and where Zanu-PF-sloganeering chief executives, board chairmen and directors pretend to be patriotic and revolutionary, and yet habitually abuse their positions, depriving colleagues of the right to participate in decision-making, subverting promotion criteria, and generally abusing employees.

This accusation is not being made in the naïve hope that these bosses will simply abandon their practices. Its objective is to call the attention of true humanists to the fact that those truly committed to the cause of liberation cannot themselves perpetrate methods of domination in the name of liberation.

This is a necessary cleansing exercise if the party is to live up to its tradition as the vanguard of the revolution.

Admittedly, this development will inevitably lead to tension and conflict within the party, but it could also contribute to the formation of a new progressive cadre and mark the beginning of a new era in Zanu-PF history.

As things stand, it should not be too difficult for the electorate to see why the MDC is a stooge political party, bent on reversing the gains of both our independence and revolution.

The past few days have shown that MDC intends to hand back land to the former white farmers, and too that it is eager to hand control of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the Germans. Surely, the prospect of Zimbabwe’s re-colonisation under an MDC government is indeed chilling. It is real. It is clear for all to see.

omowale clay