Guebuza saúda Mugabe

WAS Mozambican President Armando Guebuza being just a tad ironic and mischievous when he congratulated Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on his political longevity at the recent Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Victoria Falls? Or was it just projection between sentimental constitutional democrats, desperately seeking meaning in yet another uninspiring gathering of this listless organisation?
“We are coming to the end of our tenure as the president of Mozambique, and will hand over the baton to a new leader on October 15,” said Guebuza, a youthful 71. He is obliged to stand down after serving the maximum number of two presidential terms, as stipulated by his country's constitution. “We are grateful to President Robert Mugabe, who is the only leader who has attended all 34 SADC summits since 1 April 1980.”
Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba likewise bid farewell to his peers, as he has also reached his constitutional expiry date and will hand over to a successor after imminent elections.
Perhaps the likes of Guebuza really do admire the 90-year-old Mugabe for his staying power and feel nostalgic for the good old days of unfettered and interminable rule, which he exemplifies. Mugabe, 90, for whom term limits are surely a neo-imperialist plot to effect regime change, had just manoeuvred his 49-year-old wife Grace into the presidency of Zanu PF women's league. This is apparently to position her to succeed him if he dies in office - or at least to protect him and his family interests by keeping his enemies at bay.
Mugabe was in his usual fine, indestructible spirits as host of the summit, using the chair to admonish President Jacob Zuma and South Africa for what he implied was some sort of economic neo-colonialism. Zuma, like Pohamba, had refused to sign a draft protocol on trade in services within the SADC region, apparently for technical reasons.
Mugabe told a press conference after the summit that he had appealed to Zuma to sign the protocol. “We also appealed to South Africa, which is highly industrialised, to lead us in this and work with us, and cooperate with us and not just regard the whole continent as an open market for products from South Africa,” said Mugabe. “We want a reciprocal relationship where we sell to each other and not just receive products from one source.”