Presidents find solace together
Mugabe greets Zuma as talks provide relief from troubles
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma had a brief respite on Thursday from his troubles at home when Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe opened his arms wide for him and rolled out the red carpet in Harare.
The unofficial message that Mugabe had for Zuma was that he was there for him — presumably in his darkest hour.
“Comrade president, we need each other even more as we face renewed assaults on our independence and sovereignty. We are happy you are still in one piece in spite of what the papers are writing every day,” said Mugabe, speaking at the Harare International Conference Centre, where the Bi-National Commission was held.
Both leaders face tremendous pressure to step down.
Mugabe’s term of office expires in 2018.
His health has become a talking point after he stumbled and read the same speech twice to parliament.
An imploding economy has added to his troubles, as citizens have increasingly become restless.
The #ThisFlag citizens’ movement has been at the forefront of street protests.
Another round of protests is planned for Wednesday by political parties. On November 18, nationwide street marches are planned against the bond notes that will be issued by the government
Last month, Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF was left with egg on its face after the coveted Norton constituency, on the outskirts of Harare, which it had long held, was won by an independent candidate, Temba Mliswa, a former Zanu-PF member.
“This just goes to show what is possible when people work together and unite,” Mliswa said this week on his by-election victory.
Ibbo Mandaza, director of the Sapes Trust, a Harare-based think-tank, said that while formally the engagements between Zuma and Mugabe had centred on trade, informally the discussions could have seen an exchange of notes over the domestic situations in Pretoria and Harare.
Mandaza said Mugabe’s quick show of solidarity with Zuma, given his own mounting troubles at home and his precarious situation, was significant.
“It’s a voice of people under siege.”
The growing troubles faced by Zuma and the show of solidarity by Mugabe have dented the confidence of Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, in seeking Pretoria’s assistance to put pressure on Harare’s rulers to accede to reforms.
“Zuma just has problems of his own. There is nothing which he can do for Zimbabwe any longer,” said Nelson Chamisa, a vice-president of the MDC.
Officially, the meeting of the two leaders in Harare was focused on the first Bi-National Commission, the highest level of state-to-state engagement, which must be presided over by national leaders.
The BNC succeeds the Joint Commission and is the platform through which Pretoria and Harare hope to strengthen economic ties.
At least 120 foreign companies are doing business in Zimbabwe in various sectors, including retail, tourism, mining, agriculture, aviation and construction.
The South African-linked companies include SAA, GetBucks, Pick n Pay, MBCA (a unit of Nedbank), Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe (a unit of Standard Bank of South Africa), Zimplats (a unit of Impala Platinum), and Metallon Gold, owned by South African Mzi Khumalo.
Trade between the two countries was valued at R25.6-billion last year, largely in favour of South Africa, which is Zimbabwe’s largest trade partner in Southern Africa. Zimbabwe imports nearly 70% of its products from South Africa.
“We wish to see more South African investment here, as much as we wish to also see more Zimbabwean investment in South Africa,” said Mugabe. “I want to assure South African business people that their investments are safe here in Zimbabwe.
“This close co-operation in the economic and political sphere is the best way for our countries to relate.
“Our relations demand that we work closely.
“We have agreed and look forward to working closely together as strategic partners in defending our sovereignty and independence, in fostering ecowere nomic development, in promoting and maintaining peace and security in our countries and in the region.”
In turn, Zuma said Zimbabwe had been instrumental in fulfilling Africa’s dream of sustainable economic development. Chances that Pretoria may be willing to extend a financial bailout to Harare appear slim.
While Mugabe and Zuma cosying up to each other in Harare, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa told legislators in Bulawayo to deliberate on a pre-budget strategy paper which states that no markets are willing to extend funding to Zimbabwe.
“Relief will not come from outsiders, it will have to come from inside. We must therefore own our reforms and be frank and truthful of our situation,” he said.
In 2013, Zimbabwe sought a loan of $100-million from South Africa, which failed to materialise.
Meanwhile, Mugabe urged the BNC to prioritise the transformation of the Beitbridge border post — the region’s busiest inland port of entry — into a onestop facility. The plans, first mooted in 2009, had “gathered dust”, he said.
“A major priority is to ensure the optimal operation of the Beitbridge border through the establishment of a one-stop border post at this key bilateral and regional transit point.”
We need each other even more as we face renewed assaults