Felex Share Herald Reporter
THE South African facilitation team is overstepping its mandate by engaging small political parties outside the inclu­sive Government, legal experts and political observers said yesterday.
They said the team was now operat­ing outside the Global Political Agree­ment framework.

Sadc facilitator South African Presi­dent Jacob Zuma’s backroom team was in Harare on Monday and met small parties’ representatives in Harare.
The parties are MDC 99, Democratic Party, Zapu and Zanu Ndonga.

The team had earlier met the GPA negotiators.
Constitutional lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku yesterday described the approach by Mr Zuma’s team as “stupid”.
“We were surprised by their conduct. Their mandate is to assist GPA parties implement and solve outstanding issues, not to engage other political par­ties.

“It seems by allowing them to go out­side the GPA, we are giving them a chance to run our country. This is not about Sadc but us Zimbabweans.”
Another legal expert, Mr Jonathan Samukange, said the team should not operate outside the purview of the GPA.
“What they did was outright viola­tion of the GPA. These guys are guided by the GPA and should not operate out­side it. This is unacceptable,” he said.

Harare lawyer Mr Chris Mhike said engagements outside the GPA should be those helpful in the stabilisation of the political and economic situation in the country.
Political analyst Professor Jonathan Moyo described the meeting as “irreg­ular and an affront” to Zimbabwe’s sov­ereignty. He said the meeting proved that the GPA was dead.

“It violated not only the GPA itself upon which the Sadc mediation through President Zuma’s facilitation is based, but also in that it violated Zimbabwe’s laws because it contravened the provisions of Constitutional Amendment 19, which relates to the GPA.

“President Zuma’s facilitation is now looking for something else on which to poke its nose, but is unfortunately doing so in a manner that is overzealous, over­reaching, lawless, and scandalous and in the process the South African team has become a runaway train that is heading for a catastrophic crash if it is not res­cued,” he said.

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He added: “While everyone knows that the GPA was signed by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations after the inconclusive 2008 Parliamentary elections, which resulted in the current hung Parliament specifically and only on the basis that the three parties have representation in Parliament out of which the Inclusive Government had to be formed, there’s no legal basis for Zuma’s facilitation team to operate outside its GPA mandate and shift from being facilitators to become

participants in our national politics.”

Another political scientist, Dr Charity Manyeruke, said the facilitation team was “overstepping” its mandate by engaging the minority parties.
“They were here to look at the progression of the Constitution-making process and other issues but it becomes a cause for concern when they start diverting from their mandate.

“Going outside the framework of the GPA is overstepping their mandate. It becomes problematic in terms of the confidence that we must have in them. Deal­ing with other parties reduces our confidence in them,” she said.
Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo said the decision by the facilitation team to meet minority parties was “unfortunate”.

“If they violate the agreement then the whole nation is in trouble. This is unheard of and I think the negotiators should come up with a position,” he said.
However, MDC negotiator Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, said there was nothing wrong for the facilitation to meet other political parties.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it and it won’t be fair to say they violated the GPA. These are important stakeholders just like the church and there is nothing wrong with listening to their concerns.

“Listening is not wrong, but what they do after that should be the question,” she said.
MDC-T negotiator Mr Elton Mangoma said: “No one should be stopped from engaging anyone because these guys who they met are also Zimbabweans. They should have freedom to meet the facilitation team because they are trying to assist all of us.”

The facilitation team had come to receive an update on the Constitution-mak­ing process.
The team, however, could not have the update since the Select Committee had not yet submitted the draft Constitution to the Management Committee.

President Zuma’s facilitation team was, however, told to wait for an invitation from Zimbabwe.
The extraordinary Sadc summit in Angola recently urged parties in the inclu­sive Government to work towards holding elections within 12 months.