A controversial mission by the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to Zimbabwe to assess the situation in that country did not take place because of a lack of funds, PAP president Gertrude Mongella said on Wednesday.
The decision on whether the fact-finding mission should still go ahead would be made during the Parliament’s session next week.
”There are other developments taking place, namely the [South African President Thabo] Mbeki initiative, which I suspect have resulted in the dialogue that is now going on between the conflicting parties,” Mongella said.
Speaking ahead of the second sitting of Parliament, which will take place from October 15, Mongella said her personal view was that the mission was no longer needed.
She said while the parliamentarians would decide on the best way to proceed, a possible next step could be to send an observer mission to Zimbabwe for the elections scheduled to take place next year.
”If the election is properly done we are sure most of the problems of Zimbabwe would be resolved,” she said.
During the first session of Parliament in May delegates, in an unprecedented poll by a show of hands, overwhelming voted to send a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe.
At the time Joram Gumbo, a Zanu-PF delegate to the PAP, said he and other ruling-party delegates had tried but failed to block a resolution.
He dismissed PAP as just a noise-making organisation and said Harare had the power to prevent it from coming to the country.
This threat seemed unnecessary as PAP has up to October only received half of its $12,2-million budget from the African Union. Mongella said the fact that the mission was not sent as originally planned did not bring into question PAP’s credibility.
”Is there any institution which came out openly to discuss the Zimbabwe issue [as we did]? That already gives us credibility,” she said. — Sapa