Terrence Mawawa|Former MDC A MP Oliver Chirume has described South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as a hypocrite following claims that Zimbabwe is now conducive for business.

The former MDC-T Member of Parliament for the Gutu Central Constituency during the GNU era from 2008 to 2013, has said Ramaphosa is a hypocrite following his appeal to the EU to support Zimbabwe without reforms.

Ramaphosa told the EU during his recent visit to Brussels that Zimbabwe must be supported because in his considered view “Zimbabwe is on a path of great reforms. This needs to be supported, as Zimbabwe has turned a corner.”

Chirume is shocked to note that Ramaphosa is less interested in addressing the core reasons why sanctions were imposed in the first place.

“The importance of the respect of the rule of law and constitutionalism in restoring Zimbabwe to its independence settings cannot be overstated. It is striking that President Ramaphosa has assured the EU that the pending land reform in South Africa will be implemented in terms of the prescripts of the law. In addition, he boldly assured investors that the Zimbabwean experiences will not be repeated,” said Chirume.
He added: “We are all aware that sanctions were imposed following the chaotic land reform programs whose economic and financial impact has been colossal. If chaos will not be entertained in SA, why should President Ramaphosa stand on the side of looter and anarchists? Is he suggesting cynically that the Zimbabwean precedent must be repeated in South Africa.”

Chirume is an active member of a not-for-profit organisation called, Friends of SMM (FOSMM), that is advocating for the restoration of the rule of law and constitutionalism in Zimbabwe.

“I do not believe that President Ramaphosa is adequately briefed on the reality of what is going on in Zimbabwe. Can you imagine that there exists a law of 14 years that allows a Minister in the executive branch of government to issue an extra-judicial order that divests shareholders of the right to appoint and remove shareholders as prescribed in terms of the country’s Companies Act? I would like to believe that President Ramaphosa would not say that the existence and operation of this law represents a turning point,” said Chirume.

The call by Ramaphosa to remove sanctions comes on the heels of a raft of measures introduced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to centralize power in his office.

President Ramaphosa has been roundly criticised for not using his moral and diplomatic weight to urge the Mnangagwa administration to comply with the 2013 Constitution.