The 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) gave Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe a slap on the wrist at the close of its summit Tuesday, while inching ahead with its reorganization to better tackle pressing problems such as AIDS and poverty.
After two days of talks at their annual summit here, leaders of 10 countries and representatives of the four others did not produce any new proposals on reducing poverty and fighting AIDS -- two of the main items on the agenda.
The summit's final communique said SADC was working on a scheme to provide life-prolonging drugs at low cost to people with HIV.
But the summit broke with its agenda to discuss Zimbabwe's 18-month-old political and economic crisis, which has already had ripple effects in the region and has scared off some investors.
SADC voiced concern at Zimbabwe's deteriorating economy and created a three-nation task force to help Zimbabwe deal with its political and economic problems.
The summit's final communique "expressed concern at the effects of the Zimbabwe economic situation on the region, and indicated its readiness to engage in a dialogue with the government of Zimbabwe and other cooperating partners to resolve the situation."
The communique welcomed Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's effort to mediate between Zimbabwe and Britain, which has spearheaded criticism of Mugabe's controversial land reforms and his crackdown on political dissent.
SADC leaders also agreed to create a task force comprising Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa to work with Zimbabwe on its economic and political woes.
Mugabe suffered another slight at the summit by losing control of SADC's strategic organ on security and defense.
SADC leaders decided in March to make chairmanship of the organ and one-year elected post, ending Mugabe's previously permanent place at its helm.
Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano was elected to head the organ, with Zimbabwe and Tanzania deputy chairmen for one year.
Mugabe irritated several SADC members -- including the then SADC chief, former South African president Nelson Mandela -- by using his position to justify deploying some 12,000 of his troops to back the government in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Angola and Namibia, both SADC members, also deployed troops to back the government against Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed rebels.
But despite the voice of regional concern, Mugabe remained defiant.
His spokesman, George Charamba, said the summit's discussions on Zimbabwe consisted only of Mugabe "briefing his colleagues on the land and what has been going on."
A statement issued by the government of Zimbabwe before the summit's close again blasted Britain, claiming it was backing Zimbabwe's main opposition party "for the now clear and unacceptable neo-colonial purpose of recolonizing Zimbabwe by derailing and reversing the political and economic gains of Zimbabwe's hard-won sovereignty and independence."
The summit's final communique gave little support to any of Mugabe's policies, except a weakly worded statement in support of land reform in general in the region, but pointedly not of Mugabe's own violence-wracked scheme which has helped push the economy into economic free fall.
That has had ripple effects through the region, where smaller nations were used to selling their goods in Zimbabwe's once-thriving economy.
SADC also inched ahead with its reorganization, aimed at creating a professional staff -- instead of ad hoc teams -- to run the group and slimming its 19 divisions into four main directorates.
Diplomats here said the goal is to boost the group's efficiency and its ability to tackle problems including food shortages, natural disasters, conflicts, the AIDS pandemic and poverty.
SADC also plans to eventually form a free trade area among its members -- Angola, Botswana, the DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. |
