News / National
Ramaphosa to dismantle and illegitimatise Mnangagwa's Polad?
03 Sep 2020 at 13:40hrs | Views
Mnangagwa's spokesperson George Charamba said it was disconcerting to see that some Zimbabweans expected the country's problems to be resolved by outsiders.
This comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed special envoys - former South Africa vice president Baleka Mbete and ex-ministers Sydney Mufamadi and Ngoako Ramatlhodi - to try and end Zimbabwe's myriad crises. It also comes as the government has warned that it is futile for Zimbabweans to hope and expect that foreigners possess a magic wand that will miraculously resolve the country's difficulties.
"Zimbabweans must stop thinking that there is a messiah who is going to come from across the Limpopo or across the seas or from Mars to conquer the country's problems. "There is no messiah who is going to come from anywhere. It is only us who can solve our problems through national structures that have been put in place to facilitate such activities.
"South Africa is reacting as a friend and neighbour and not as the chair of the African Union (AU). In terms of diplomacy, there is what we call the principle of subsidiarity," Charamba told the Daily News.
"This means that any emerging issues must be resolved at a regional level, that is Sadc, before being escalated to the AU (African Union) - otherwise what would be the role of sub-regional bodies?
"We all know where the chair of Sadc is. It is in Botswana. So, let it be known that Ramaphosa's response is coming from a brother, an ally and neighbour not the chair of the AU," he said further.
"The special envoys will come, fact-find and leave to give their analysis to Ramaphosa. But what must remain clear is that the solution to the country's problems will only come from Zimbabweans.
"There is this notion that the coming of South African envoys will dismantle and illegitimatise existing national communication structures such as Polad.
"That line of thinking is misguided and has been adopted by individuals who have put their faith in foreigners for assistance.
"Self-respecting Zimbabweans must know that we have national institutions for engaging each other," he added.
This comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed special envoys - former South Africa vice president Baleka Mbete and ex-ministers Sydney Mufamadi and Ngoako Ramatlhodi - to try and end Zimbabwe's myriad crises. It also comes as the government has warned that it is futile for Zimbabweans to hope and expect that foreigners possess a magic wand that will miraculously resolve the country's difficulties.
"Zimbabweans must stop thinking that there is a messiah who is going to come from across the Limpopo or across the seas or from Mars to conquer the country's problems. "There is no messiah who is going to come from anywhere. It is only us who can solve our problems through national structures that have been put in place to facilitate such activities.
"South Africa is reacting as a friend and neighbour and not as the chair of the African Union (AU). In terms of diplomacy, there is what we call the principle of subsidiarity," Charamba told the Daily News.
"This means that any emerging issues must be resolved at a regional level, that is Sadc, before being escalated to the AU (African Union) - otherwise what would be the role of sub-regional bodies?
"The special envoys will come, fact-find and leave to give their analysis to Ramaphosa. But what must remain clear is that the solution to the country's problems will only come from Zimbabweans.
"There is this notion that the coming of South African envoys will dismantle and illegitimatise existing national communication structures such as Polad.
"That line of thinking is misguided and has been adopted by individuals who have put their faith in foreigners for assistance.
"Self-respecting Zimbabweans must know that we have national institutions for engaging each other," he added.
Source - dailynews
