| PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is expected to take over the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) chair from Malawi at the regional bloc’s ordinary summit slated for Victoria Falls in August, but questions have arisen over whether he will add value to the regional bloc given his advanced age and the persistent controversy associated with his rule.
Wongai Zhangazha
Mugabe, who has struggled to arrest the country’s economic decline and has been at the centre of its governance disputes including persistent allegations of electoral rigging, will now be expected to resolve regional disputes and chart economic growth in the region — something he has dismally failed to achieve at home.
He is taking over the chairmanship at a time a number of Sadc member states are preparing to hold general elections this year and these include Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia while Tanzania holds its polls next year.
Mugabe is also African Union deputy chair and is expected to take over the AU chairmanship next year.
The Sadc summit will be held under the theme “Sadc Strategy for Economic Transformation: Leveraging the Region’s Diverse Resources for Sustainable Economic and Social Development”.
Mugabe’s elevation was as shocking to many people as it was ironic — how could a man who has presided over a political and economic meltdown which resulted in his country being placed under the curatorship of Sadc go on to lead that same organisation?
Analysts are querying what this means for ordinary Zimbabweans, asking whether there should be any optimism over the appointment in view of allegations of violation of human rights raised by various international and local non-governmental organisations as well as opposition parties against Mugabe, who remains under Western “restrictive measures”.
There are at least seven priority areas that were identified and adopted by the Sadc Council of Ministers which met in March in Lilongwe, Malawi, to intensify efforts to deepen integration for socio-economic development. FULL STORY |