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Robert Mugabe

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EDITORIA - Sceptics were right about the brouhaha that surrounded the Southern African Development Community (SADC)-crafted Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe. From the start it was certain that the arrangement was destined for failure.

For a start, Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF doctored the power-sharing agreement before it was signed. Despite protestations from the opposition parties, particularly Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the SADC appointed facilitator, Thabo Mbeki, and SADC executive secretary, Tomas Salamao ignored them and went ahead with the signing ceremony.

As we write, the arrangement is in tatters. Mugabe is still behaving as if nothing has changed. MDC's supporters, including a designated minister, Roy Bennett, are still languishing in jail over trumped up charges. Human rights activists are still incarcerated in prisons across Zimbabwe.

The very week Tsvangirai was being sworn in as Prime Minister, Mugabe's goons were raiding and misappropriating white farms.

This week Mugabe has been busy appointing his cronies to key public service positions without consulting the Prime Minister contrary to the power-sharing agreement. Ironically, while this scuttling of the spirit of the Government of National Unity is going on, a bunch of SADC ministers meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, are trying to convince the region and the world that all is well in Zimbabwe.

South African President, Kgalema Motlanthe, who happens to chair SADC has been at pains to convince the world that all that is needed in Zimbabwe is to give Mugabe more assistance, specifically money. What Motlanthe and SADC should be doing is to hold Mugabe to the spirit and letter of the power-sharing agreement that ushered in the Government of National Unity agreement.

Mugabe cannot expect to be assisted to cling to power while he is not prepared to assist the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe. He should not be allowed to play power politics with the lives of Zimbabweans and the region. 

Regional leaders should be firm with Mugabe, at least for the sake of ordinary Zimbabweans. What more should Mugabe subject the Zimbabweans to for regional leaders to realise the Harare despot is a man with a sadistic mind.

We still believe the only lasting solution will be the conduct of the presidential election under the supervision and sponsorship of the international community, specifically the African Union and United Nations. The 'African solution to African problems' policy has proved to be a failure as evidenced in Kenya and now Zimbabwe. MmegOnline

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