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SACP Second Deputy Secretary General Solly Mapaila addresses the Cape Town Press Club. (Jan Gerber, News24)
- The SACP criticizes the government of Zimbabwe for its “increasing authoritarianism”.
- He said that while Zanu-PF denied that the nation was in crisis, many Zimbabweans were fleeing their country.
- This, after the ANC visited Zimbabwe recently, as reports of human rights violations continue to emerge.
SACP’s first undersecretary, Solly Mapaila, has criticized the Zimbabwean government and Zanu-PF for their “growing authoritarianism,” a stance that contradicts that of her alliance partner, the ANC.
Commenting on the Zanu-PF government during a virtual press conference at a post-central committee meeting, Mapaila said that it was a pipe dream for any revolutionary movement to think that it could achieve any goal without its people.
“There is a growing authoritarianism in Zimbabwe that we reject with the contempt it deserves. In particular from our comrades in Zanu-PF. We do not believe that a revolutionary movement should decline in its democratic ethics and practices in the way that it is happening, while denying.” We see that many Zimbabweans are fleeing their own country, “he said.
Mapaila’s statement stands in stark contrast to that of the ANC, which denied that neighboring Zimbabwe was facing a crisis.
Returning from an overnight visit to the country last week to meet with Zanu-PF leaders, the ANC, led by Secretary General Ace Magashule, called Zimbabwe’s problems a “challenge” rather than a “crisis.” .
The opposition party in Zimbabwe, the MDC, accused the Zanu-PF government of intensifying the kidnappings, torture and unjust imprisonment of critics of the government.
Bloomberg reported that aid agencies estimated that 60% of Zimbabweans would need help finding food by April 2021. The country also faced shortages of medicines and water, with annual inflation of 837%.
