Ramaphosa off to summit in troubled Mozambique
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to Mozambique today to attend an extraordinary summit of regional leaders about the crisis in that country.
Yesterday, political parties expressed hope that the visit would yield results.
This came as the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was concerned about reports of displaced people in Mozambique.
Ramaphosa will attend the extraordinary double Troika Summit of Heads of State and government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to be held in Maputo today.
The summit will deliberate on measures to address terrorism in Mozambique after the insurgency that left a number of people dead.
The SANDF was deployed to help South Africans return home.
Ramaphosa will be accompanied by
Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Naledi Pandor, Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo.
The summit was convened by President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, in his capacity as chairman of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said the meeting would yield results because the SADC had an agreement that when one of the organisation’s partners was under siege, the SADC brigade could be deployed to assist the affected country.
“But you cannot go to that particular country if you do not have an agreement with that affected country. Mozambique has been saying they want the European Union (EU) to help them, but now the EU is not ready and SADC is ready, I’m sure they can go ahead and plan on how to deal with the matter,” Holomisa said.
However, the DA said military intervention was the only step to stop the violence and restore security.
DA spokesperson on defence Kobus Marais said: “It cannot be expected that South Africa solely pays the cost for a military operation, as we do not have the money or the capacity.
“The SADC should also resolve to seek the support of the US and Europe, to provide much needed additional funding and emergency military equipment.”
Marais said the meetings would be “meaningless” if a military intervention for the insurgency in Cabo Delgado was not placed at the top of the agenda.
Senior researcher at Xubera Institute for Research and Development Xolani Dube said it was urgent that South Africa attend to matters relating to SADC countries.
“I suspect that what is happening in Mozambique is just like what happened to Zimbabwe – we tend to say we don’t interfere and that has a negative impact on South Africa.
“Even now, when you hear of what is happening in Mozambique, there is no urgency. There is a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique. The situation will push the poor to cross borders and overburden the crisis of high unemployment that South Africa is already having,” Dube said.
UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said teams in Pemba had received reports from displaced populations that more than 1 000 people who fled Mozambique and tried to enter Tanzania were not allowed to cross the border to seek asylum.
“We are following up on these reports in Tanzania. UNHCR calls on Mozambique’s neighbours to provide access to territory and asylum procedures for those escaping violence and seeking protection,” Baloch said.