COSATU slams SADC inaction over Zimbabwe crisis

By Lance Guma
28 August 2007

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has criticised what it calls the lack of any real progress at the just ended Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit meeting in Lusaka, Zambia. The meeting was supposed to have discussed measures aimed at resolving Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis but COSATU took exception to the lack of transparency in the way heads of state discussed the issue. The union says 80 percent unemployment, inflation officially pegged at over 7600 percent and shortages of basic commodities are having a devastating effect on ordinary people. Thousands are fleeing the poverty, hunger and political repression affecting the country and yet the regional bloc ignored all those concerns.

Speaking to Newsreel on Tuesday Patrick Craven, the COSATU spokesperson, said although they are yet to get the full details of the deliberations, they felt the recommendations made by the regional bloc were out of sync with the actual reasons for the crisis. A letter by South African President Thabo Mbeki in the ANC Today newsletter talks about the SADC meeting approving initiatives to assist Zimbabwe’s economic recovery. COSATU say there ‘is little in the President’s letter to suggest the sort of radical measures that the situation demands.’ SADC itself seems to have accepted Mugabe’s mantra about sanctions hurting Zimbabwe’s economy.

Craven said the main reason for the lack of investment and extension of credit lines for Zimbabwe was not sanctions ‘but chronic economic instability and brutal political repression, which the SADC report ignores entirely.’ The South African labour body also noted the lack of any real progress by Mbeki to broker a deal between Zanu PF and the MDC. COSATU say although ultimate responsibility lies with the people of Zimbabwe, SADC governments have to take a much tougher line with the Zanu PF government, because the crisis is affecting them directly.