A 15 member delegation from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was Wednesday barred from entering Zimbabwe, IRIN reports.
The delegation, led by COSATU secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi and first deputy president Joe Nkosi, intended to conduct a fact-finding mission ahead of Zimbabwe’s legislative elections on 31 March.
– The aim of the visit is not to undermine the government of Zimbabwe, but to interact with the people of that country and listen to their concerns. We cannot announce the coming Zimbabwe national elections as being free and fair if we do not have a true reflection of the problems of the people of Zimbabwe. The aim of the trip is to experience these problems ourselves, COSATU spokesman Paul Notyawa said last month.
Immigration officials at Harare International Airport served the delegation with deportation orders, saying they were prohibited immigrants, after Minister of Labour Paul Mangwana warned COSATU that their presence would not be welcome.
Mangwana was quoted as saying last month that Zimbabwe was not a province of South Africa, and COSATU should stay on its side of the border.
The deportation of the COSATU team was condemned by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), which said the intended visit had no ulterior motives.
ZCTU secretary-general, Wellington Chibhebhe, said the ZCTU and COSATU leadership would meet in the South African border town of Musina on Thursday to map the way forward.
– We are disappointed that our colleagues in COSATU have been denied entry but that is a reflection of the kind of government that we have. We are going to lodge a complaint with the International Congress of Free Trade Unions which is based in Brussels, Chibhebhe told IRIN after the deportation.
Last year, another COSATU delegation was deported from the country after Zimbabwean authorities accused them of interfering in their internal affairs.
Kilde: FN-bureauet IRINnews
