WHY IS THE UN TEAM NOT WELCOME IN HARARE?
That news was heartening because it gave hope that the elections would proceed as planned, despite our own dry coffers. We did not see any problem with the government approaching the UN because we are member of this international body.Our hope turned to pessimism when we learnt that there were disagreements regarding who a UN team tasked with a pre-election funding assessment should meet. The UN, in accordance with its regulations, must choose who to meet as a way of ensuring maximum objectivity and accuracy before releasing funds. Either we agree with the global institution’s requirements or we forget about their funding. You can’t be a beggar and a chooser at the same time.It is surprising that there are some in the GNU who are queasy about the UN using its own discretion to assess the situation in the country before it can release the money that we need to hold elections.
Of course, there is no prize for guessing who is behind this position. It is clearly people who have a lot of skeletons stashed away in their cupboards. Already, propaganda against the UN assessment is employing the imagined phenomenon of “regime change” and we know that President Robert Mugabe and his party are the ones who use this phrase ad nauseum.The bottom line is that advocates of limited access to the UN team are afraid that the assessment would expose them. For instance, there are numerous reforms that need to be carried out, yet one section of the coalition government, Zanu (PF), has fervently resisted them, in direct breach of the Global Political Agreement.The voters’ roll still needs proper attention and who does not know that Zanu (PF) is unsettled at the prospect of a clean one? All the talk about sovereignty does not make any sense. We should be subjected to UN scrutiny because we are a voluntary member and the world body is not a particular government but is representative of all its members and is therefore impartial.We urge those who are resisting unlimited access by the UN to people and institutions to rethink their position and let sanity prevail.
Of course, there is no prize for guessing who is behind this position. It is clearly people who have a lot of skeletons stashed away in their cupboards. Already, propaganda against the UN assessment is employing the imagined phenomenon of “regime change” and we know that President Robert Mugabe and his party are the ones who use this phrase ad nauseum.The bottom line is that advocates of limited access to the UN team are afraid that the assessment would expose them. For instance, there are numerous reforms that need to be carried out, yet one section of the coalition government, Zanu (PF), has fervently resisted them, in direct breach of the Global Political Agreement.The voters’ roll still needs proper attention and who does not know that Zanu (PF) is unsettled at the prospect of a clean one? All the talk about sovereignty does not make any sense. We should be subjected to UN scrutiny because we are a voluntary member and the world body is not a particular government but is representative of all its members and is therefore impartial.We urge those who are resisting unlimited access by the UN to people and institutions to rethink their position and let sanity prevail.
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