Mugabe trying hard to appease SADC

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe spoke out against political violence as Zimbabweans celebrated 31 years of independence from colonial rule on Monday, but critics say the conciliatory speech was only meant to appease leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU). SADC and the AU gave ZANU-PF the oxygen to remain in power after they underwrote the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in September 2008 to end the contestation for power in Zimbabwe that followed disputed harmonized elections in the same year.

Without SADC and the AU's intervention many people believe ZANU-PF could have been condemned to opposition politics after it lost to the combined Movement for Democratic Change formations in the March 2008 elections.

It had therefore come as a surprise to many observers that the same beneficiary of SADC and the AU's benevolence could bite the hand that sustained its political life by railing against the guarantors of the power-sharing truce as it did after the recent SADC Troika on Politics, Defence and Security summit in Zambia.
Realising the odds were stacked against him President Mugabe made a volte face on Monday.

Pledging his unwavering commitment to the GPA, the 87-year-old veteran of the liberation struggle ordered police to arrest perpetrators of political violence.
"Please, let there be no violence, no fighting against each other," he said.

Although his party faithful hurled insults at other partners in the inclusive government, especially Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who attended the proceedings, President Mugabe said he was happy with the performance of the coalition government, adding that he was grateful to SADC for what he described as the regional grouping's support to Zimbabwe.

Interestingly, he refrained from attacking the premier, a favourite past-time for him when addressing large gatherings.
He went at length heaping praises on SADC and the AU, much to the delight of African diplomats that thronged the National Sports Stadium, the venue of the celebrations.

"Within our region, SADC has continued to give unwavering support in our quest to be fully in charge of our economic resources. We are grateful to the guidance and support that SADC and the African Union are giving to our country," he said.

Critics allege the ZANU-PF leader was playing to the gallery to give the impression that he is committed to non-violence. The intention is to please SADC, which is not happy with his intransigence.

The SADC Troika has been under fire from ZANU-PF spin-doctors after President Jacob Zuma, the facilitator in the Zimbabwe crisis, produced a damning report about the issues affecting the GPA.

Following Zuma's presentation on March 31 in Livingstone, Zambia, the summit released a communiqué that indirectly attacked ZANU-PF for stalling political reforms in Zimbabwe.

The Troika called for an end to violence and intimidation, the crafting of an electoral roadmap and the appointment of a SADC team to assist in the monitoring and evaluation of the GPA, among other things.

After the summit, President Mugabe said Zuma and SADC would not be allowed to interfere with the country's internal affairs. His supporters also lashed out at Zuma, saying he could not be trusted.

But President Mugabe's spe-ech on Monday was empty of his usual vitriol against his opponents.

Critics say the President was embarrassed by some reports in the state media attacking Zuma and is now out to make amends.

"The idea is to be seen to be in sync with both his GPA partners as well as with the regional body's transitional framework. In this regard, he expressly mentioned the completion of the constitutional review process as a priority preceding new elections. Henceforth, it is unlikely that (President) Mugabe's communication strategy will feature the kind of potshots at SADC that we saw from ZANU-PF spin-doctors and the state media in recent weeks," said Innocent Chofamba Sithole, an analyst based in the United Kingdom.

Trevor Maisiri, a Harare-based analyst, said while President Mugabe was preaching peace, some of his party supporters were ridiculing the Prime Minister, an indication that ZANU-PF was no longer functioning as a single and unitised entity that it has been in the past.

"This is evident in the recent attack on the person of President Jacob Zuma which the party later on refuted as not having been derived from its midst. This lack of synchrony is something that is quickly eating into the party's enclaves," said Maisiri.

While President Mugabe's proclamation for the extermination of violence was recommendable, it would take more than just public proclamations to ensure that violence is exterminated because of the divisions in his party.

Analysts say the party must develop coherence around such a message by making sure that the anti-violence me-ssage is not only a presidential proclamation but an implemented code within the party functionaries and structures.

If ZANU-PF is serious about this message then the party must start to rein in those members invo-lved in activities that go against the President's proclamations, they say.

"If these elements are left to roam about, then the Presidential proclamation will merely be rhetoric," said Maisiri.
Bekithemba Mpofu, another analyst, said the speech by the President was a last minute cosmetic bid to make SADC leaders think Zimbabwe's parties were working thi-ngs out.

"The opposition will be folly to fall for this trap and instead this is the time for them to intensify their working strategy. (Presi-dent) Mugabe knows that if SADC resolutions reflect the SADC Troika tone then it will be game over for ZANU-PF whichever way one looks at it," he said.

"Given the current diplomatic efforts, ZANU-PF would have been unwise to go for the usual rhetoric. So between now and the SADC summit expect a wolf in sheep clothes.

"If the communiqué goes their way then no Zimbabwean will be safe as they will do anything to have elections this year particularly when the political playing field is uneven and the security institutions are partisan."