MDC Alliance Salutes SADC For Calling Mnangagwa To Order

HARARE – MDC Alliance commended the SADC regional bloc for setting the right tone in urging President Emmerson Mnangagwa to continue dialogue and implement political reforms.

He also appreciated the bloc’s call for the lifting of personal sanctions against Zimbabwean officials, but stressed that the bigger picture was about addressing human rights issues.

SADC Chairperson and President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera, on Monday called for “meaningful and constructive dialogue…with a view to consolidating the rule of law, democracy, governance and human rights” in Zimbabwe.

“It is only through such an exchange that the concerns of all parties could be better appreciated and progress made in resolving them,” Chakwera said, calling on Western countries to “support Zimbabwe’s efforts to implement its reform agenda.

MDC Alliance Vice-Chairman Welshman Ncube said the statement was a welcome change from SADC’s oft-expressed stance of condemning individual sanctions while offering no way out of the political stalemate. Zimbabwe.

“For the first time in a long time, SADC clearly recognizes that Zimbabwe’s crisis is multifaceted, accepting that Zimbabwe’s international isolation is the result of bilateral and multilateral disputes that Zimbabwe has with the international community,” Ncube said during of a press conference in Harare.

“From the start, SADC has supported Zimbabwe in lifting sanctions, but has always been reluctant to accept the grassroots deficit that has led to international isolation.

“It is imperative that we do not enter into a dialogue with the Americans, the British and the European Union without having spoken to each other.

“This reform agenda must be national, must be locally rooted and must be accepted by stakeholders in Zimbabwe. It cannot be a reform program adopted or promoted unilaterally by Zanu PF.

“We welcome this recognition of the need for reform in Zimbabwe. The issues of rule of law, democratic deficits, good governance and human rights abuses are addressed for the first time in this SADC statement and we welcome them.”

The Zanu PF government held choreographed events across the country on Monday in which supporters denounced “sanctions” which they said were at the root of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.

The United States and the European Union said there were no trade sanctions against Zimbabwe, but personal sanctions against listed individuals and the state-owned arms company.

Ncube said Zimbabwe is in an ongoing political crisis which “showed itself most clearly in the elections”.

Zanu PF youths attempted to disrupt the MDC Alliance press conference held at the legal office of MDC Vice President Tendai Biti. The police had to intervene before it started.