The recent developments where the police and the army have taken a clearly partisan position in the country’s politics cannot go unchallenged.
NewsDay Editorial
As the country staggers towards the watershed elections that will bring to an end the shaky coalition government, Sadc, as guarantors of the process, must put its foot down by pushing for a level playing field.
Despite the progress the country has witnessed on the economic, social and political fronts, the role of the State security sector remains a cause for concern.
There is apparent lack of will on the part of the powers-that-be to deal with errant army and police commanders who continue to interfere in civilian processes.
However, it is comforting to note that Sadc, as the guarantor of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) through its facilitator, South African President Jacob Zuma, has publicly called for security sector reforms.
In his own words to the Sadc troika recently, Zuma made it clear that the “security sector realignment cannot be postponed any longer” as fears abound that if the country heads for elections without proper reforms, it could spell disaster should Zanu PF lose the polls. Now that Sadc has realised that something needs to be done, the “deeds not words” philosophy should apply.
Sadc should act to force the GPA principals to implement a clear roadmap agreed to so that the forthcoming elections will not be disputed, but will see the loser congratulating the winner and a proper handover-takeover process becomes a reality.
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Yesterday we reported the case of people in Manicaland who were harassed by soldiers.
An MDC-T dossier presented to Sadc by minister Jameson Timba details several cases of soldiers that harassed perceived MDC-T supporters while police were embarking on their crusade to raid civic society organisations, arresting and intimidating officials.
There is no doubt that without proper security sector reforms the forthcoming plebiscite would not be free, fair and credible. The unbecoming behaviour of the security sector must stop if Zimbabwe is to realise its democratic goals.
If President Robert Mugabe is sincere about his persistent calls for peace, then he should spearhead the chlorination of the security sector, which Sadc has acknowledged needs urgent attention. Mugabe has been preaching the gospel of peace, but he must realise that peace must begin with him as the Commander-in- Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
Tsvangirai conceded that his office was under siege after his meeting with Acting President Joice Mujuru on Monday and that coming from the Premier who is supposed to be sharing executive powers with the President shows how skewed our politics is.
It is our hope that Zuma and his team will continue to push until Zimbabwe is in a position to hold a credible election.
