NGOs On Warpath

Toivo Ndjebela And Irene Hoaës

20 May 2011

Windhoek — Namibia yesterday became a battleground of heated arguments between civil society organizations observing the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) extraordinary summit that started here yesterday.

The SADC Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-CNGO) held a press conference earlier in the day calling, among others, for the summit to rule against the holding of elections in Zimbabwe this year.

SADC-CNGO says holding elections in Zimbabwe ‘in the current environment’ would have ‘the events of 2008 repeated’ in an obvious reference to controversies that marred that country’s last national elections.

It called for implementation of resolutions taken in March by the SADC Organ Troika in Livingstone, Zambia concerning the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

But three hours later, the All Africa Non-Governmental Organisations, a coalition of Pan-African civil society organizations, held a press briefing where it demanded that elections should be held so that political normalcy can be restored in Zimbabwe.

The coalition’s secretary general, Goodson Nguni, said some civil society organizations were using the ongoing summit to ‘influence SADC into implementing the Western imperialist agenda’.

In March, the Livingstone Summit expressed concern about the polarisation of the political environment in Zimbabwe which, it said, was characterized by, inter alia, resurgence of violence, arrests and intimidation.

Dadirai Chikwengo, Chairperson of Zimbabwe’s National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) said institutional and legal infrastructure as well as the psychology of the people in Zimbabwe is not ready for what would certainly be a critical and hotly contested election.

“Elections in the absence of the above mentioned conditions will not yield the desired results, rather it will lead to another inconclusive and disputed election,” Chikwengo said

The heated debate among the NGOs ensued yesterday afternoon as delegates at the summit weighed whether to postpone the Zimbabwean issue from the agenda in the wake of reports that South African President Jacob Zuma would not attend the summit.

Zuma, the key facilitator in the Zimbabwean crisis, was reportedly unable to attend the Windhoek summit because of municipal elections that took place in South Africa on Wednesday.

The SADC Council of Ministers, chaired by Namibia’s Minister of Trade and Industry Hage Geingob, was expected to decide last night whether to remove the Zimbabwean issue from the agenda or to adopt its discussion.

Contrary to SADC-CNGO’s assertion that the political climate in Zimbabwe is not conducive to hold elections, Nguni maintained that it is time Zimbabweans elect a government that does not encompass more than one political party.

He accused SADC-CNGO of being Western-funded, saying the group’s agenda is against the control of Zimbabwean resources by Zimbabweans.

“There are many people in SADC who have been purchased by the Western countries. And fortunately for us, Namibia is not one of those countries,” Nguni said.

Nguni said the crisis in Zimbabwe is rooted in the country’s land reform policy of 2000 that led to the expropriation of mainly white-owned farms.

Nguni also lashed out at Zuma’s advisor on international affairs, Lindiwe Zulu, for her recent media comments on Zimbabwe, seen to be attacking Zanu-PF and President Robert Mugabe.

“Zimbabwe is not a province of South Africa, neither (is it) a province of SADC. It’s a sovereign country,” he said.

“When she (Zulu) comes to Zimbabwe, she refuses to see any pro-Zanu-PF civil society, but she talks to anti-Zanu-PF society and get a one-sided version of what is happening in our country,” Nguni claimed.

Following the Livingstone Troika, the relations between Harare and Pretoria have been frosty following attacks on Zuma by some sections of the media in Zimbabwe.

Zuma’s likely absence at the summit where the Zimbabwean crisis was set to enjoy massive discussion would certainly add weight to speculation that there could be a diplomatic rift between the two countries.

AllAfrica – All the Time