News / Africa
No date yet for Zimbabwe Sadc summit
07 Jun 2013 at 12:30hrs | Views
A new date has not been set for a regional summit to assess Zimbabwe's readiness for general elections, South Africa's International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said on Friday.
Regional mediators are consulting to set a date for the summit, after one scheduled for Sunday was abruptly called off on Thursday, she told reporters in Pretoria.
"The date for such an extra-ordinary summit always gets decided upon by the availability and programmes of heads of state, creating space for this meeting. It's not an ordinary, scheduled meeting."
Southern African Development Community leaders were speaking to Zimbabwe about a date.
President Jacob Zuma - facilitator in the Zimbabwean impasse - and other regional leaders would attend.
Media reports on Friday stated that Sunday's meeting was called off because Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, 89, informed SADC he would not be available for the summit.
The summit was expected to discuss a range of issues, including the cash-strapped Zimbabwean government's efforts to raise a US132m election budget.
Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court ruled last Friday that Mugabe should organise elections no later than July 31.
The polls aim to end an uneasy SADC-brokered unity government between Mugabe and his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, which was formed in 2009 after deadly disputed elections.
Regional mediators are consulting to set a date for the summit, after one scheduled for Sunday was abruptly called off on Thursday, she told reporters in Pretoria.
"The date for such an extra-ordinary summit always gets decided upon by the availability and programmes of heads of state, creating space for this meeting. It's not an ordinary, scheduled meeting."
Southern African Development Community leaders were speaking to Zimbabwe about a date.
Media reports on Friday stated that Sunday's meeting was called off because Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, 89, informed SADC he would not be available for the summit.
The summit was expected to discuss a range of issues, including the cash-strapped Zimbabwean government's efforts to raise a US132m election budget.
Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court ruled last Friday that Mugabe should organise elections no later than July 31.
The polls aim to end an uneasy SADC-brokered unity government between Mugabe and his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, which was formed in 2009 after deadly disputed elections.
Source - Sapa
