PM urges SADC to convene Zim summit
2013-03-16 17:00
Special Report
Zimbabwe's first "Cattle Bank" has just opened its books in a unique kind of banking where owners bring in their animals as collateral against cash loans.
Cape Town – Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has
urged SADC to convene a special summit on Zimbabwe to help cement a roadmap to
free, fair and credible elections, according to a statement.
Tsvangirai told a SADC Observer Mission in the country to
observe the conduct of the constitutional referendum that "SADC, as the guarantor
of the GPA [Global Political Agreement], should use a full summit to assess whether
Zimbabwe was ready for free, fair and credible elections based on a checklist
on agreed positions".
Zimbabweans are voting on a new constitution that would pave
the way for crucial elections.
Voters are expected to roundly back the text, which would
introduce presidential term limits, beef up parliament's powers and set
elections to decide whether 89-year-old President Robert Mugabe stays in power.
Mugabe has ruled uninterrupted since the country's
independence in 1980, despite a series of disputed and violent polls and a
severe economic crash propelled by hyper-inflation.
- News24
