Former president Thabo Mbeki has been formally removed as the Southern African region’s mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis, government announced this week.
At the same time, the South African team appointed by President Jacob Zuma is tasked with producing results by the end of this year in its new effort to get Zimbabwean political processes back on track, according to government officials.
The Southern African Development Community asked Zuma to take over the facilitation process from Mbeki, who was recalled as president and therefore had to hand over the baton.
An official said that because Mbeki had no national mandate, he could not continue as the SADC’s facilitator in the unity government initiative that started after Zimbabwe’s presidential election last year.
Zuma is sending a high-level team comprising his international relations adviser, Lindiwe Zulu, political adviser Charles Nqakula and special envoy Mac Maharaj to Zimbabwe in a bid to clear the remaining obstacles to the implementation of the unity government.
The agreement, which was signed in 2008, is still struggling to get off the ground.
“We want to make sure that by the end of the year there are no outstanding issues left and Zimbabwe can get on with things,” the official said.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) began boycotting Cabinet meetings in September 2009 following Zanu-PF’s unilateral appointment of the Reserve Bank governor and attorney general.
Zanu-PF also refused to drop charges against MDC treasurer Roy Bennett, who is waiting to be sworn in as the deputy minister of agriculture.
It is understood the MDC and Zanu-PF members started meeting this week in preparation for the visit by the South African facilitation team.
Zanu-PF wants the MDC to spearhead demands for the dropping of sanctions by the US and the European Union against the Zimbabwean elite.
The date of the visit by the South African team has yet to be set.