(TALKZIMBABWE) Zanu PF takes sanctions, pirate stations, parallel gvt to Jomic

Zanu PF takes sanctions, pirate stations, parallel gvt to Jomic
Mutsawashe Makuvise
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:21:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party has asked the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Commission (Jomic) to deliberate on the outstanding issues of sanctions and the illegal beaming into Zimbabwe by pirate radio stations.

These issues are both in the Global Political Agreement. The party also wants Jomic to discuss the allegations that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T has set up parallel Government structures.

In an interview, Professor Welshman Ncube, who is one of the three co-chairpersons of Jomic, said they were looking into the issue of the lifting of sanctions and that of allegations that the MDC-T was running parallel government structures that were both brought up by Zanu PF as part of efforts to realise the full implementation of the GPA signed by the three political parties.

Zanu PF also seeks the intervention of Jomic on continued and consistent use of foreign government funded external radio stations by the MDC-T, saying such radio stations should cease to broadcast as their broadcasting was not in the best interest of the country as enshrined in the GPA.

On the other hand, he said, MDC-T also wanted the issue of Roy Bennet to be looked into as well as that of alleged selective justice; although these were not "outstanding" issues.

Prof Ncube said the subcommittees that were set up were still looking into the issues of disagreements and would present a paper of their findings to Jomic for the necessary plan of action.

He maintained that there were no "outstanding issues" in the GPA as alleged by the MDC-T party but mere disagreements that only needed to be sorted out and agreed upon.

“Everything in the GPA has been talked about at different levels and at different platforms. It therefore does not make sense for people to say there are outstanding issues in the agreement.

"People need to understand the terminology. The fact that there are disagreements or that the other part maybe slow in the implementation does not make an issue outstanding.

"What remains of the GPA is the full implementation and Jomic is there to deal with all the problematic areas of the agreement which is exactly what we are doing.

Prof Ncube added that the implementation of the agreement and the charting of a new political direction for the country was spread over a period of three years hence the need for the parties to the GPA to be patient.

"The MDC-T has ... brought before our attention the issue of the swearing in of Roy Bennet as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and the alleged selection in the application of rule of law. All those issues are being looked into by Jomic as grey areas that need to be agreed upon not as outstanding issues," said Prof Ncube.

He urged the parties to the GPA to remain committed to the full implementation of the political agreement as the nation was pinning all its hopes of a revived Zimbabwe on them.

According to Article four of the GPA, the parties agreed that all forms of measures and sanctions against Zimbabwe be lifted in order to facilitate a sustainable solution to the challenges currently facing the country as well as committing themselves to working together in re-engaging the international community with a view to bringing to an end the country’s international isolation.

The issue of sanctions, however, seems to be a lone battle as Zanu PF has long been calling for a collective voice especially from the MDC-T to urge the West to remove the illegal sanctions that were slapped on Zimbabwe at their instigation but their call has just been a voice in the wilderness.

Although the West is on record as saying the sanctions were targeting certain Government officials evidence on the ground points to the fact that they are hurting ordinary people more than the targeted individuals.

MDC-T is running parallel structures where officials working in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s offices are earning salaries above other Government employees.