Zuma fights for Welshman Ncube

The Sadc facilitation team on Zimbabwe says it will tackle the exclusion of MDC president Welshman Ncube, saying this was a violation of a regional resolution.

South African President, Jacob Zuma's international affairs adviser, Lindiwe Zulu said the facilitation team was not happy with Ncube's continued exclusion and wanted to bring an end to this.

"The facilitation team is not happy with the exclusion of anybody," she said. "It is an issue of the facilitation and we can be able to deal with this."

Ncube recently wrote to the Sadc chairman, Jikaya Kikwete accusing President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of making key governance decisions without consulting him.

Instead Mugabe and Tsvangirai have chosen to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who lost a leadership contest to Ncube.

But Zulu said this should come to an end, as all the parties that signed the GPA must be included in negotiations.

"The GPA was signed by three political parties and we think they should all be represented, Sadc has taken a decision to that effect," she said. "None of those parties must be marginalised."

Zulu said Zuma had seen the letter Ncube had written to the Tanzanian president and both presidents were expected to respond soon. She said the two presidents will discuss the letter, before responding, which she said would be soon.

Following the facilitation team's last visit, Zulu said she was not at liberty to discuss some of the issues she had discussed with the Zimbabwean parties, saying her team was yet to brief Zuma and the discussions were not for public consumption.

However, Zanu PF strategist, Tsholotsho legislator, Jonathan Moyo has accused Ncube of abusing familial ties with Zuma to gatecrash principals meetings.

"He is trying to abuse his family relationship with President Zuma," Moyo was quoted as saying.

Ncube's son is married to one of Zuma's daughters.

Sources indicated that a troika meeting was going to be called, as Sadc was working overtime to ensure that Zimbabwe implemented all the provisions before elections, which Mugabe wants in June, were held.

It was revealed that the facilitation team had wanted to meet the three political parties, but Zanu PF and MDC-T said they could not attend as they were busy.

Tsvangirai has since written to Sadc appealing for a regional summit that will discuss the implementation of outstanding issues.