The Zimbabwean government has warned the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) not to undertake a mission to Zimbabwe on the same terms as its previous visit.
At the end of last year, a Cosatu delegation was summarily ordered out of Zimbabwe after it tried to meet with that country’s union officials.
According to the Zimbabwean Chronicle and Newzimbabwe.com, the Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi, warned Cosatu on Tuesday not to make the same mistake.
”If they [Cosatu delegates] want to come to Zimbabwe, they should seek clearance with the appropriate authority, in this case the ministry of public service, labour and social welfare. If they try to do what they did last time, they should be prepared to face the consequences,” Mohadi was quoted as saying.
”Zimbabwe is not a banana republic. We are a sovereign nation. They should not come here to break the laws of this country. The laws of this country will apply to them if they come.”
The next visit of a Cosatu delegation to Zimbabwe is planned for February 1 and 2.
”We are not aware of any clearance requirements as mentioned in the article,” Moloto Mothapo, Cosatu communications official, told the Mail & Guardian Online. ”Our delegates have obtained all the required documents and visa for a trip to Zimbabwe.
”Our mission will not be contravening any immigration laws. Even the last time, our delegates had obtained all the required papers.
”Nonetheless, they were still deported from the country. The Zimbabwean High Court issued an interdict stating that we had all the required papers.
”For the coming mission, we have followed every required procedure to get access to Zimbabwe. We have written the minister of labour a letter, and are still waiting for a response,” Mothapo said.
”We are hopeful that these remarks will not be representative of the stand of the Zimbabwean government. It contains serious allegations and we think that they are unfounded statements.”
The African National Congress said on Tuesday that it will back the Cosatu mission to Zimbabwe. The previous mission to Zimbabwe was criticised heavily by President Thabo Mbeki.
”The ANC is not objecting to Cosatu going to Zimbabwe, because we have a common understanding on the purpose and the need to build unity and find a solution in Zimbabwe,” ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said.
”We welcome this statement of the ANC and it supports the fact that Cosatu and the ANC are aspiring [to] the same results when it comes to the situation in Zimbabwe. The methodology of both parties is different and we are happy that we are bridging this gap in methodology,” Mothapo said.