Mugabe’s party insists Zuma must quit as mediator ahead of summit

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s party has reiterated its calls for South African President Jacob Zuma to be relieved of his duties as the country’s mediator.

Zanu PF wants the facilitator’s role discussed at the forthcoming Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit.

President Zuma will assume the chairmanship of the SADC Organ on Defence, Politics and Secuirty Cooperation at the Heads of State summit set for Luanda, Angola next week.

Zanu PF, which formed a unity government with the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations in 2009, says the South African leader cannot be facilitator and chairman of the organ at the same time.

The facilitator reports to the organ on the Zimbabwe political talks now aimed at creating an environment for free and fair elections.

SADC executive secretary Mr Tomaz Salamao had appeared to be dismissing the Zanu PF argument last week saying President Zuma’s role will not be discussed at the summit because he still had the mandate to facilitate the Zimbabwe talks.

But on Thursday, state media, which represents the Zanu PF line of thinking in the unity government, criticised Mr Salamao saying he cannot speak on behalf of SADC because he was just an employee of the regional body.

“Mr Salamo is just an executive secretary and he does not make authoritative decisions on behalf of the bloc,” the official Herald newspaper said quoting an unnamed government official.

“The issue of Zimbabwe’s facilitator is for Heads of State to decide on and he should stop causing unnecessary confusion.

“The whole mediation role in Zimbabwe has got a historical anomaly that is inconsistent with SADC practices when it comes to facilitation roles.

“The SADC norm on facilitation is to rely on a former Head of State and not a sitting president. It is only the Zimbabwe case that been subjected to a sitting president.”

President Zuma’s successor, Mr Thabo Mbeki was the previous facilitator in the Zimbabwe talks and brokered the power sharing agreement signed in September 2008, while still South African president.

The spokesman of President Zuma’s facilitation team Ms Lindiwe Zulu has said there would be no problem with Mr Zuma doubling as the facilitator and chairman of the SADC organ.

Former Zimbabwe Information Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo, a close ally of President Mugabe said if SADC insisted that President Zuma takes the two responsibilities “they will be inviting a clear conclusion that there is a sinister agenda.”

Prof Moyo precipitated a major diplomatic fallout between Zimbabwe and South Africa in April when he used the state media to attack President Zuma and his facilitation team.

This was after President Zuma had tabled a report at a meeting of the SADC troika in Livingstone, Zambia blaming President Mugabe for the political violence rocking Zimbabwe and the selective application of the law.

Prof Moyo accused the South African facilitation team of playing to the whims of Western governments that wanted regime change in Zimbabwe.

“To say President Zuma should execute the two duties is utter nonsense,” the former minister said.

“Things must be right because of their inherent rationality.

“He should choose one of the two hats because either way he will still be seized with the Zimbabwe issue.

“The question is which hat he should wear because he cannot wear two because he does not have two heads.”

President Zuma’s facilitation team has been hailed for refusing to be intimidated by President Mugabe.

The Zimbabwe crisis has been on top of SADC’s agenda since 2002 and it is expected to dominate the Angola summit.