8 September 2009

Kinshasa — THE Sadc Council of Ministers shot down attempts by some lobbyists to have Zimbabwe on the agenda of the Heads of State and Government Summit that opened here yesterday with member-states saying the region was faced with more pressing issues than discussing the "staffing situation in Zimbabwe".

The summit agenda is essentially set by Foreign Affairs Ministers sitting as the Council of Ministers, who met this past weekend to review recommendations made by committees of experts who, in turn, converged here last week.

Officials from at least three countries yesterday revealed that Sadc member-states generally felt that the situation in Madagascar -- which was said to be on the verge of forming a transitional government -- was more urgent than a review of the Global Political Agreement and the inclusive Government in Zimbabwe.

"Zimbabwe will most likely not be a main agenda item. Yes, the Heads of State (and Government) will receive a brief from ex-Sadc chair President (Jacob) Zuma (of South Africa) and from your own President, but it seems this will not be within the context of the main agenda but as 'any other business'.

"The situation in Madagascar is more urgent. We don't feel we as Sadc should act as a staffing officer who determines who should occupy which office in your administration. You will have to sort that out yourselves with the full knowledge of our collective goodwill," said an Angolan minister after the official opening.

In a separate interview, an official from Namibia's delegation added: "The most pressing issue from a peace and security perspective was that we wanted the (Global Political) Agreement signed and the unity Government created. It is there now and the people of Zimbabwe must learn to resolve other internal issues without running to their neighbours all the time."

A South African delegate to the summit said their country was not pleased by the "attempts to lobby other countries ahead of Cde Zuma's briefing" as this made it appear that elements within Zimbabwe's inclusive Government did not trust him.

"The general feeling right now is that the attempt to lobby individual Sadc members as if Cde Zuma's briefing is already public reflects distrust. President Zuma has been in close contact with what has been happening in Zimbabwe.

"Sending a non-government delegation to lobby against a Sadc president at a Sadc summit means that these people don't trust Cde Zuma's integrity and they have not done themselves any favours by this. They are shooting themselves in the foot," he said.

Information doing the rounds at the African Union City -- the summit venue -- was that MDC-T has sent a delegation here to lobby Sadc leaders to take a hardline stance against President Mugabe and Zanu-PF over the implementation of the GPA.

It was also intimated by two reliable Sadc secretariat sources that MDC-T had lobbied hard, albeit unsuccessfully, for the summit to be moved from the DRC to -- "most likely" -- Botswana because the party "does not trust President Kabila".

"What they told some very senior colleagues of ours in the secretariat was that the DRC did not have the technical capacity to host the summit. The idea is that, we believe, they didn't want President Kabila to chair Sadc because they feel

he is too close to President Mugabe because Zimbabwe sacrificed a lot for the DRC. But then as a secretariat we are not dictated to by mere political parties and even President Mugabe's party cannot determine who will host the next summit," they said.

At the time of writing, it was understood that President Mugabe -- who is the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces -- would brief his colleagues on the progress of the GPA and how best to follow up pledges made by fellow Sadc leaders to assist the country when they met in Swaziland earlier this year.

On the issue of the Sadc Tribunal, The Herald understands that the summit would be brought up to speed on the opposing arguments surrounding the contested legality of the court but would in all likelihood thereafter refer the matter back to regional Justice Ministers and Attorneys-General to thrash out the technical issues.

In his welcome remarks at the official opening of the summit here yesterday, host President and new Sadc chair, Joseph Kabila thanked Sadc member states -- led by Zimbabwe -- who contributed troops to safeguard his country's territorial integrity after it was besieged by Western-backed rebel forces from Uganda and Rwanda.

The DRC operation code-named Operation Sovereign Legitimacy, was spearheaded by Zimbabwe in its capacity as chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation.

President Kabila lauded the intervention of the Sadc contingent -- in which Zimbabwe had the largest deployment of troops and equipment -- saying such unity augured well for Southern Africa's development.

He urged the regional bloc to build from its past achievements to foster greater regional development through unity of purpose.

"We will always be grateful to Sadc members who deployed troops to defend our territorial integrity in our time of need."

He reiterated these remarks in his acceptance speech after taking over the Sadc chairmanship from President Zuma.

In reference to the political challenges facing various member states, President Kabila said: "We have been there before and faced similar challenges. We owe it to the support of Sadc member states for the stability we enjoy today.

"We hope that we can still count on your solidarity in this time of consolidation of our peace because a peaceful DRC is important for the Southern Africa region . . . I am happy that in Zimbabwe you have signed an agreement and formed a unity government. I encourage you to implement this agreement."

Congolese musicians emphasised this message by performing a song in which they sang the praises of the countries that had sent soldiers to sacrifice life and limb in the DRC, while also thanking President Kabila for his fortitude in the face of the strife of the past decade.

In his farewell address, President Zuma appeared to borrow from the words of one of his predecessors, Cde Thabo Mbeki, when he was accepting the chairmanship of the bloc in Sandton last year, by reminding Sadc that it was the progeny of the Frontline States and must draw from this rich past to engender greater unity for development and enhanced regional integration.

"We are built on a solid foundation and therefore cannot fail in our mission of people-oriented development. We should build on the achievements of the past for the economic and social development of our people."

He said Africa had not played a part in the triggering of the current international economic meltdown but was suffering from it acutely all the same, and there was need for the region to create more mutually beneficial ties with the South instead of concentrating unduly on the North.

Zambia's President Rupiah Banda, representing the outgoing Sadc Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security, said the summit presented an excellent opportunity to review the bloc's operations and chart a sustainable way forward.

"Although the achievements we have made in the past 29 years are commendable, we have here an opportunity to energise and emphasise the importance of regional integration to improve the welfare of Sadc citizens.

"We are still faced with the daunting challenge of eradicating poverty . . . The prospects of mobilising resources from the West are doubtful in the present global financial crisis and there is an urgent need to intensify the mobilisation of domestic resources," he said.

Nine heads of state and government from the DRC, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia are here for the summit that ends today.

Apart from peace and security matters, Sadc leaders will also be seized with the global financial crisis, food security, climate change and how to speed up regional economic integration.

President Mugabe is accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, his Justice and Legal Affairs counterpart Patrick Chinamasa and several senior Government officials.

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