Zimbabwe is reportedly on the agenda at a SADC Double Troika Summit of Heads
of State and Government to be held in Angola on Monday and Tuesday.
According to New Zimbabwe.com, the summit is aimed at assessing the
situation and evaluating the consolidation of democracy in the region.
Quoting a statement by the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the report
said that "the consolidation of democracy in the sub region will also be
evaluated, especially in Madagascar, Swaziland, the DRC and Zimbabwe".
The report said, however, that it did not seem likely that the Southern
African Development Community had any plans to take any stance against the
November 2017 ouster of Zimbabwe’s long serving president Robert Mugabe by the
military.
Mugabe recently made remarks that South Africa could have done "much
more" to save him politically during last year's military takeover.
'SA could have done much more'
The 94-year-old made the remarks during an interview with the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent paper at his Blue Roof mansion in
Harare.
This was after he had be asked whether felt betrayed by his neighbours. Mugabe
said: "In a sense, yes." But he conceded that none of Zimbabwe's
neighbours apart from South Africa had the capacity to intervene.
"South Africa could have done much more. It did not have to send an
army, but just to engage," he said.
Former president Jacob Zuma sent his defence and security ministers to
Harare on November 15, hours after the military took control of the country and
placed Mugabe under house arrest.
Mugabe said the South African envoys "gave a false impression that all
was okay [and that] they had spoken not just to us but also to the soldiers,
and then gave out that there was no need for intervention".
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He said it was then that other countries in the region "just sat on
their laurels and they said ah well South Africa says there’s no need [to
intervene]".
But New Zimbabwe.com said that SADC executive secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax
was in the country last week where she congratulated Emmerson Mnangagwa on being elected
leader of the ruling Zanu-PF and becoming the country’s president.
"She also praised Zimbabweans for managing the volatile political situation
soon after Mugabe was elbowed out of his job," the report said.
Meanwhile, a statement by the presidency said on Monday that President Cyril
Ramaphosa was scheduled to participate in the SADC Double Troika Summit.
The statement said that the summit would also pay attention to Lesotho.
The SADC Double Troika is comprised of the following countries: South
Africa (Chair of SADC), Republic of Namibia (Deputy Chair), Kingdom of
Swaziland (Outgoing Chair), Republic of Angola (Organ Chair), Republic of
Zambia (Incoming Chair of Organ) and the United Republic of Tanzania (Outgoing
Chair of Organ).
