BY BLESSED MHLANGA

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has come out guns blazing against Sadc, saying the regional bloc had failed to impartially address the legitimacy and governance issues which have pushed over four million Zimbabweans into economic refugees in other countries.

Speaking during a radio interview in South Africa yesterday, Chamisa said he had expressed the opposition party’s unhappiness to the Sadc leadership.

“We are not satisfied with the way Sadc has treated the Zimbabwean matter and we have raised it with them,” Chamisa said.

“We recently held meetings with Sadc. Our issues are well known. We are not happy with their view particularly in defining the crisis in Zimbabwe. I am glad that they understand the position. The position is we have a governance crisis. They think the crisis is an economic one.”

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He said the problem with Sadc was made bigger because President Emmerson Mnangagwa chaired the critical Organ of Politics and Security, thereby compromising efforts to settle the Zimbabwean crisis.

“The problem within Sadc is one of the key organs is chaired by Zimbabwe. So it then becomes a bit of a problem to have that matter dealt with or sorted even in the context of AU,” Chamisa said.

“But we will continue to encourage (South African) President (Cyril) Ramaphosa (pictured) at the ANC and country level to make the necessary steps to help us Zimbabweans to find solutions.”

The MDC leader is currently in South Africa to engage the ruling African National Congress and other civic organisations to help push Mnangagwa into dialogue with his party that could result in major electoral and political reforms ahead of the 2023 general elections.

He said the army and the civilians should have a peace pact.

“We have always said as part of the dialoguing process we need to have some kind of a civilian-military peace pact, where we agree on the parameters because now it’s a big issue. That’s why I have called on the military to be part of the discussion in Zimbabwe,” Chamisa said.

Sadc has backed Mnangagwa’s government and has refused to put Zimbabwe on the agenda saying there is no crisis in the country.

The regional bloc’s executive secretary Stergomena Tax, has led Sadc in lobbying the West to unconditionally lift sanctions against Zimbabwe saying they were affecting ordinary people.

But the West has insisted on political and economic reforms from the Mnangagwa regime.