Mugabe's political star set to shine bright

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's political star is set to shine bright when he takes over the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) from current chair, Malawi's Peter Mutharika, next month. The election of President Mugabe to the SADC chairmanship comes nearly a year after the veteran leader swept to victory in an election that saw him defeat his arch-rival, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai, who had become a permanent feature in the SADC summits for the last five years due to his various grievances against Zanu-PF, will not be rubbing shoulders with regional heads at this year's summit, as the 34th SADC summit is only open to government leaders. For what it is worth, the veteran leader appears likely to lavish the sweet moment at the helm of the regional body, over which he will be in charge for a year.

Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, the Foreign Affairs Minister, said preparations for the SADC Summit in Victoria Falls were in full swing.

"From August, all SADC meetings from Heads of State and Government, to inter-ministerial meetings and other sectors will be hosted by Zimbabwe. President Mugabe as chairperson will lead the region for one year to August 2015. He will also remain in the regional bloc's leadership as a member of the SADC Troika in his capacity as outgoing chairperson up to August 2016," said Mumbengegwi.

The resort town of Victoria Falls, which will play host to the prestigious event, was chosen deliberately in order to showcase the resort town as an international destination, said Walter Mzembi, the Tourism and Hospitality Minister.

"The Cabinet has taken a deliberate stance to position Victoria Falls as an international conferencing centre and this is something that we will see more often as we continue to market the country to the rest of the world," Mzembi told the Financial Gazette.

Indications are that President Mugabe may seek to share the Zimbabwean narrative of indigenisation and land redistribution with the regional group during his one year stint at the helm.  The current chair, Mutharika, and his predecessor, South African President Jacob Zuma, are seen to have done very little to change the tone of SADC during their tenures.

Zuma spent the greater part of his leadership of SADC resolving the Zimbabwean political crisis and intervening in the coup in Madagascar and in the conflict ravaging the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Former Malawi president, Joyce Banda, while at the helm of SADC, spent most of her time courting foreign funding, preparing for elections as well as batting off embarrassing disclosures over millions of dollars looted from Treasury by her administration.

Political observers warned that President Mugabe must tread carefully and not antagonise SADC members with his usually sharp rhetoric against the West, as some member states enjoyed cordial relations with the international community and would not run the risk of alienating themselves and sacrificing relations at Zimbabwe's insistence.

Kurauone Chihwayi, a political analyst and secretary for international relations in the MDC party led by Welshman Ncube, said there was no chance for positive change in SADC with President Mugabe at the helm as his leadership at home was fraught with challenges.

"His ascendancy is unavoidable because these are positions given on rotational basis. SADC should not be cowed into silence or allow President Mugabe to export his style of leadership to their peaceful countries," said Chihwayi.

"SADC must stop President Mugabe from doctoring or bending regional policies to suit his interests and those of Zanu-PF."

President Mugabe has found consistent opposition from neighbouring Botswana but has had allies in Mozambique, Angola, Swaziland, Zambia, the DRC, Malawi, Namibia and Tanzania.  The SADC summit is set to be held under a theme: "SADC Strategy for Economic Transformation: Leveraging the Region's Diverse Resources for Sustainable Economic and Social Development through Beneficiation and Value Addition" - that resonates with the country's economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation.

Mumbengegwi said the theme had been informed by the thrust at the continental level that Africa could substantially reduce poverty and increase industrialisation by leveraging its strategic resources.

"Zimbabwe is getting only 10 percent of the value of its resources by exporting raw materials hence beneficiation is critical," Mumbengegwi said.

Political commentator, Rashweat Mukundu, said SADC has given President Mugabe another shot at regional leadership.  

"While he will likely push radical policies of self reliance and empowerment, this will be done moderately and he will likely be pushed to be conciliatory to the West and moderate his actions and statements to be more representative of the groups broad interest," said Mukundu.

"The Zimbabwe government is fortunately already saying the right things on the need to resuscitate the SADC Tribunal. President Mugabe will have to be moderate and walk the middle ground to be accommodative of the varying regional interests. Any radical posturing will not have takers and as a regional leader he would not want to be isolated, but leave a mark of consensus and policies that are long lasting," said Mukundu.

Another political commentator, Khanyile Mlotshwa, said: "I believe that if one is paying attention all over the world, we can see a renewal in radical approaches to matters of politics and economics. I don't believe that radical policies will divide the SADC region in any way, but if anything, they will bring the region closer. It is only global capital that would be scared and create an impression that the region is divided over President Mugabe's rise."