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Three replies to Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary questions received today from the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, confirm the government’s commitment to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) as the roadmap for political reform in Zimbabwe.

These replies can be found here.

The Minister confirmed that South Africa does not intend to allow deviation from the GPA despite the fact that the constitution-drafting teams are two years behind schedule. The GPA determines that the constitution-making process in Zimbabwe must be concluded before elections may be held. We hope this means that South Africa, as the key mediator in Zimbabwe, will reject calls by President Robert Mugabe for elections to be held this year.

South Africa’s image as a fair and principled mediator in Zimbabwe has been harmed by former President Thabo Mbeki’s silent diplomacy in Zimbabwe, the ANC’s expressed support of its “sister liberation movement” Zanu-PF and DIRCO’s apparent lowering of the bar for democracy in Africa, illustrated by its failure to reject the flawed 2008 presidential elections in Zimbabwe.

We will be holding the Minister to her commitment to the GPA. Today, I will be writing to the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation to request regular feedback from the Minister on steps taken to ensure its implementation.

At the dawn of South African democracy, Nelson Mandela wrote that the “belief that issues of human rights are central to international relations” would be a pillar of foreign policy in the democratic dispensation. A commitment to democracy and the protection of human rights in Africa is also reflected in the vision and mission of DIRCO. It is thus imperative that our foreign policy, particularly with regards to Africa, promotes these values.

We will continue to monitor the government’s position on and intervention in Zimbabwe to ensure that it does not allow Zimbabwe’s new constitution to create a vacuum for Robert Mugabe to continue his reign as president-for-life.