Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa on Monday criticised the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for claiming that President Thabo Mbeki had not been an ”honest broker”.
Mbeki had undertaken mediation efforts between the MDC and the ruling Zanu-PF to the best of his abilities and his efforts had been ”courageous and fruitful”, Simon Khaya Moyo told Parliament’s portfolio committee on foreign affairs.
He was briefing the committee ahead of his country’s ”harmonised” March 29 presidential, parliamentary, Senate and municipal elections.
”It now comes as more of a shocker than anything else — in fact, amounting to arrogance and disrespect — for the MDC to make the trip to South Africa to announce that President Mbeki has not been an honest broker,” he said, adding that it ”smells of some mischief”, intended to derail the elections.
Referring to the state of campaigning in the country, Moyo said it was ”so peaceful, so beautiful, it’s fantastic”.
He gave the committee an overview of arrangements and preparations for the elections and addressed ”unfounded concerns” about the independence of the country’s electoral commission.
Moyo criticised a ”massive media campaign” being waged by Western nations and blamed his country’s woes on ”comprehensive sanctions” and ”external interference”.
While sanctions only targeting individuals in Mugabe’s government have been imposed by countries such as the United States and Britain, Moyo said these could more accurately be called ”comprehensive”. Financial sanctions have been augmented by an ”all-pervasive and wicked Western propaganda machinery”.
Former Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said Moyo’s remarks begged the suspension of disbelief and called his presentation ”very one-sided and biased”. He questioned why no MDC representatives or Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma were present.
Committee chairperson Fatima Hajaig said: ”It’s a pity we didn’t have all parties present, but I don’t know why it’s happened.”
Leon asked Moyo, given his remarks published in the Weekender newspaper that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) ”trumpets British falsehoods”, how South African media outlets would get accreditation to cover the elections.
While listening to Moyo’s answer, Leon clapped his hand over his mouth and muttered into it.
According to Moyo, ”independent newspapers” in Zimbabwe never refer to Zanu-PF. Outside broadcasts, beamed in from Washington and London, are urging the opposition to ”engage in incitement of regime change”. He denied having made a statement about the SABC.
Pan Africanist Congress leader Motsoko Pheko asked him what was being done to improve the country’s collapsed economy. ”We are doing all we can, given the harshness of the comprehensive sanctions,” Moyo answered.
He said if Zanu-PF lost the elections, the outcome would be respected.
Independent candidate and former finance minister Simba Makoni had been expelled from Zanu-PF as this was in line with the party’s Constitution, Moyo said. ”If you leave the party and stand on your own, you have expelled yourself.” — Sapa