South Africa’s main political opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), on Thursday said Robert Mugabe cannot be part of Zimbabwe’s road to democracy, saying the dictator must be offered an ‘exit strategy’ for the country to ever recover. The party presented its ‘Roadmap to Democracy in Zimbabwe’ in the South African parliament on Thursday morning, as a response to the MDC’s decision to disengage from ZANU PF in the unity government. DA Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip told SW Radio Africa that the ‘neutral and objective’ document is the best basis for a new course of action for Zimbabwe’s future, saying “it will allow for a clear path towards the establishment of democracy.”
The roadmap, Trollip explained, is very simple with only four primary objectives that need to be achieved. These are: an agreement to hold fresh elections, the formation of an interim government, the formation of a new, people driven constitution, and ultimately free, fair, democratic elections. Trollip explained that while these steps are obvious, “it is the way in which they are implemented that will determine whether or not Zimbabwe succeeds.” Trollip continued that there are two fundamental issues that need to be addressed if the roadmap is to succeed, with the first being that Robert Mugabe cannot be part of the process. “The position he currently holds is illegitimate and, as a result, his interests and the interests of those close to him have compromised the current arrangement,” Trollip said. “One cannot build a democracy on a series of first principles that are fundamentally tainted.” The DA parliamentary leader said an effective exit strategy must be established so that Mugabe willingly steps down from power. But he argued this will only happen with a ‘united front’ behind the proposal. He explained that the second fundamental issue is that international, and in particular regional leaders, must pledge to oversee the roadmap’s success. “The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the South African government and the United Nations must show willingness to use force if Zimbabwe’s political parties stray from this roadmap,” Trollip said. Trollip acknowledged that here-in lies the biggest challenge for the roadmap’s success, and he criticised SADC and the ANC led government in South Africa for not applying pressure on Mugabe and ZANU PF to adhere to the Global Political Agreement. Trollip argued that South Africa missed a critical window of opportunity to be tough with Mugabe while Zuma was still SADC chair, but he expressed anger that Zuma has now adopted the notorious policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’ to Zimbabwe. “Before he was elected as the country’s president, Zuma was making all the right noises about Zimbabwe,” Trollip explained. “But those noises have now become a whimper, just mist on the water.”
South Africa’s main political opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), on Thursday said Robert Mugabe cannot be part of Zimbabwe’s road to democracy, saying the dictator must be offered an ‘exit strategy’ for the country to ever recover.