SADC SAILING UNDER FALSE COLOURS

One of the most controversial questions being asked by many people today is can SADC find a lasting solution to the disagreements within the Inclusive government? Many stories especially on the role of SADC in Zimbabwe have been written and they will continue to be written, but what many people still question is when the “African solutions to African problems” are coming. The fulsome conclusion that SADC leaders are pressuring the three political parties in the inclusive government is very myopic and deceiving. The charade stance by SADC to make the world believe that it is doing everything in its power to bring to an end the disagreement or outstanding issues in the Zimbabwean scenario is very misleading. Since the inclusive government came into effect, several summits on Zimbabwe have been called and this has not brought any change whatsoever.SADC has continued to digress from its promises that it made to the world. Towards the end of 2010, they called a summit in Maputo to try and make the MDC re-engage with ZANU PF and more interestingly they gave the inclusive government a deadline to implement what the MDC termed “outstanding issues”. The deadline elapsed with no outstanding issue having been dealt with within the stipulated timeframe and SADC never took any punitive action against the party that was in violation. Such a development has caused many people to question the role of SADC in resolving conflict. Of course there might be a grain of truth in the assertion that SADC has over the years managed to bring a little bit of sanity in regional politics but one truth that we can not deviate from is that when it comes to serious matters especially that have to do with conflict, SADC has proved that it incapable of bringing lasting solutions. For example we can look at war torn and poverty stricken nations like Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ivory Coast where thousands of people have been displaced due to political upheaval while SADC has only gone to the extent of taking a critical stance but failing to bring a solution. There is stark misconception especially among elements within ZANU PF that SADC must find an African solution to the Zimbabwean crisis is simply a move by a bunch of inept leaders who have benefitted greatly in 1997 when their leader, Robert Mugabe was the chairman of the SADC organ on security and defence. Being the chairman of SADC, Mugabe deployed Zimbabwean troops and led Angola and Namibian troops in a military intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Being the Chairman at the time it is the same SADC,a bit reformed though, that Mugabe is dealing with today. He knows how to play his “game” well and he can delay all he wants because she knows the very weaknesses of SADC. All the stories in the media about the about the role of SADC in the Zimbabwean situation have ceased to have meaning. All these stories are compact, apocryphal, told in rapid succession and most people now are tired of this same rhetoric.SADC objectives clearly summarized, include evolving common political values, systems and institutions and promoting peace and security. One is forced to ask what or how many countries have had peace restored to them under the close monitoring of SADC. SADC is more concerned about peace rather than justice. Peace means that as long as there are no people in the streets demonstrating about any social injustice, then to SADC there is no need for intervention. In the case of the current environment where everyone is busy with trying to survive, then to SADC its main objective of fostering peace is being achieved. As far as the administration of law is concerned, such a mandate is too much for SADC. In countries such as Zimbabwe and Botswana strengthening African Institutions and pressurizing them to uphold their protocols on human rights, elections and good governance is the best path to democracy. A lasting solution to the current political upheaval in the country in Zimbabwe or elsewhere on the continent is strengthening the ballot and amplifying regional and continental peacemaking through the African Union and SADC. BY Rawlings Magede