James Duddridge, Local Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend
East, Presses the Government to monitor the Current Situation in Zimbabwe
and advises Caution to Ensure Future Stability in Zimbabwe.
Local MP James Duddridge, who was Minister for Africa between 2014 and 2016,
was one of the first MPs in the House of Commons to bring the coup in Zimbabwe to
the Government’s attention.
At 14.50 on Tuesday 14th November James asked:
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Have you heard from the Foreign Office of an
intention for a Minister to come to the House to make a statement on what appears
to be an ongoing coup in Zimbabwe?
The Speaker replied:
The short answer to the honorable Gentleman is that I have received no indication
from any Minister from the Foreign Office or any other Department of an intention to
make a statement on that matter. However, what the hon. Gentleman has said will
have been of great interest to Members in all parts of the House, and, importantly,
his remarks will have been heard by those on the Treasury Bench. Knowing him as I
do, with his interest in and experience of this subject, I have a feeling that we will
hear more about the matter before very long. Meanwhile, he has put his point very
firmly on the record.
To watch on parliamentlive.tv click here.
The next day on Wednesday 15 th November, having received more information of
how the situation was developing overnight, James brought up the issue again in
Prime Minister’s Questions.
James asked:
Given the recent events in Zimbabwe, what support can Her Majesty’s Government
provide to Zimbabweans to help their country’s recovery, both economically and in
terms of their democratic systems of government?
The Prime Minister said:
My honorable Friend raises an important point. We have all seen what has
happened in Harare, and we are monitoring developments carefully. The situation is
still fluid, and we would urge restraint on all sides, because we want to see—and
would call for—an avoidance of violence. Of course, our primary concern is the
safety of British nationals in Zimbabwe. It is an uncertain political situation, obviously,
and we have heard reports of unusual military activity, so we recommend that British
nationals in Harare remain safely at home until the situation becomes clearer. On his
specific point, we are currently providing bilateral support to Zimbabwe of more than
£80 million per year, partly to support economic reform and development, just as he
says.
To watch on parliamentlive.tv click here.
After Prime Minister’s Questions, the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, answered
an urgent question on the unfolding situation.
James asked the Foreign Secretary:
Whilst it would be tempting to rush towards a government of national coalition to
provide stability, will he advise caution? Let’s see through the ZPF conference that
was planned for December, elections that were planned in August and there was
already talk about bringing forward those election to February and March, and it is
important that we have those elections and Zanu-PF go through the proper process
and that they are multi-party elections, in order to make sure we get the stability we
need to move forwards.
The Foreign Secretary said:
My honourable Friend brings a wealth of experience to this subject and he is
absolutely right. The message that I’m trying to get over to the house this afternoon
is that we should not jump the gun. We should not jump to conclusions about how
exactly things are going to turn in the next in the course of the next two days or even
two hours I think the caution he advises is extremely sensible.
To watch on parliamentlive.tv click here.