David Masango
20 August 2007
Talks between the Zimbabwean government and opposition parties are progressing well, South African President Thabo Mbeki said at the conclusion of the 27th Southern African Development Community Summit (SADC) in Zambia last week.
"The summit called on them to speed up the [negotiation] process so that elections in March should be held in an environment of peace and stability," he told journalists in Lusaka on Sunday.
This was after both Mbeki and the SADC secretariat's executive secretary, Tomaz Salomao, had submitted individual reports on the situation in Zimbabwe, including a proposed turnaround plan, to the summit.
The SADC chose Mbeki to promote dialogue between the Zimbabwean government and its opposition following an extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in March.
Mbeki said that all SADC leaders, as well as the Zimbabwean government and its opposition, had shown concern and wanted the situation in Zimbabwe to improve ahead of elections there in early 2008.
He added that he was also making progress in talks with civil society bodies involved in resolving the problems in Zimbabwe.
Salomao was also chosen at the Tanzanian summit to analyse the Zimbabwean economy and advise SADC heads of state on the best way forward.
Delegates at the Zambian summit recommended that SADC finance ministers and the Zimbabwean government draft an economic recovery plan for the struggling country.
The summit also heard of the continued strengthening of regional integration, as well as a number of successful elections held around the region, including in Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They also discussed strategies for infrastructure development for improving regional integration, regional food security, and female representation in decision-making position, while also renewing their commitment to fighting HIV/Aids in the region.
Mbeki added that the SADC region would become a free trade area as planned, with member countries having until the end of 2008 to remove tariffs on goods.
Source: BuaNews
