Financial Gazette (Harare)
Njabulo Ncube
12 June 2008
Harare — FORMER ZANU-PF politburo member Simba Makoni is in South Africa in connection with President Thabo Mbeki's last ditch attempts to forge a government of national unity (GNU) bringing together President Robert Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Makoni, who came a distant third in the March 29 presidential election, has been in South Africa since last week. On Tuesday he was in Pretoria and Johannesburg on his way from the World Economic Forum conference allegedly at the behest of Mbeki who, sources claim, is eager for the run-off to be forgone.
Mbeki's moves to win a negotiated settlement have resulted in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) delaying the deployment of between 200 and 400 observers, highly placed sources said.
Makoni confirmed in an interview with South Africa's Kaya FM on Tuesday that negotiations were underway, adding that the prevailing political environment was not conducive for staging a run-off whose outcome will be acceptable to both President Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai has already indicated that his party would not accept a win by President Mugabe, accusing the incumbent of sponsoring a violent campaign in the countryside to decimate MDC structures and displace its supporters.
At the same time, President Mugabe's wife, Grace, has vowed that Tsvangirai will never "see the inside of State House", President Mugabe's official residence, echoing earlier threats by army generals that they will never salute any leader other than the veteran nationalist.
A murderous campaign for the run-off has led to the death of about 70 people from both camps since the disputed March 29 election in which Tsvangirai outpolled President Mugabe but did not win enough votes to avoid a run-off.
Yesterday Mbeki voiced his concern over the escalation of violence ahead of the run-off.
"We are at one with SADC and most of the international community that the incidents of violence and reported disruption of electoral activities of some of the parties are a cause for serious concern and should be addressed with all urgency," he told South African lawmakers yesterday.
Mbeki's reluctance to publicly criticise President Mugabe's administration has infuriated Tsvangirai who allegedly has called for the South African leader to be stripped of his role in a controversial letter disputed by Pretoria.
Tsvangirai's re-election campaign has faced serious disruptions from the Zimbabwean authorities and police twice detained him last week.
Tsvangirai claims that ZANU-PF militia and state security agents had so far killed 66 of his supporters.
According to the police, MDC supporters early this week murdered a war veteran in skirmishes in Bikita while four alleged ZANU-PF supporters were injured during disturbances in Masvingo province.
"At the moment, we are doing whatever we can to ensure that we do not experience major problems in the presidential second-round elections set for June 27," Mbeki said. "We do hope that friends of the people of Zimbabwe, who seek nothing more than freedom for the people of that country to elect a government of their choice and overcome the current socio-economic crisis, will work together in pursuit of these objectives," he added.
A GNU, African diplomats say, could torpedo the staging of the June 27 presidential run-off if it succeeds.
In his interview in South Africa, Makoni was quick to point out that such delicate diplomacy cannot be conducted in public or through the media, hence the secretive nature of the discussions.
"I am convinced that the last thing Zimbabwe and the people need is another election. Zimbabweans right now need a government of national unity. Negotiations are presently going," he said. "Diplomacy by nature cannot be done in the public domain."
Sources said Mbeki, about whose role as mediator in the hard-to-resolve Zimbabwean crisis Tsvangirai has cast aspersions, was secretly exerting pressure on both President Mugabe and the MDC leader to forgo the run-off.
The sources said the South African leader was unperturbed by MDC charges that he was not an honest broker in a stinging letter written to him by the MDC leader outlining a string of complaints.
"Makoni has been bought into President Mbeki's scheme of things. After meetings this week, the negotiations shift into the next and final stage of directly engaging both President Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who, to all intents and purposes, are not averse to the idea", said an African diplomat privy to the negotiations.
"But the problem is who will call the shots in the negotiated settlement."
Apparently the sticking point is who will head the transitional government. Both Tsvangirai and President Mugabe seem to assign to the run-off the role of final arbiter.
Makoni on Tuesday held a press conference after meetings with President Mbeki's pointman, at which he openly indicated he supported the idea of a government of national unity.
"Between now and June 27, we believe that an election cannot be conducted...the people will be short-changed," Makoni told journalists. "The only point of departure is who will lead us... who will be the top person," he said.
Mbeki has sought the opinions of other political players in Zimbabwe, including academics, the clergy as well as the smaller formation of the MDC on a political settlement.
Tsvangirai insiders claimed the media had also been complicit in campaigning for a GNU, saying the international media had been at the forefront.
Tsvangirai on Tuesday appeared to rubbish reports that his party was in talks with ZANU-PF to forge a government of national unity in the wake of an upsurge in political violence.
He described the media reports claiming the June 27 run-off could be called off and that he was in line to be appointed prime minister in a unity government, as mere speculation.
He said he and the MDC were ready to "finish" off President Mugabe in the second round of polling despite conceding that the conditions were not conducive for the staging of any election.
"There has been growing momentum of a government of national unity. Speculation is rife on this issue with some saying negotiations are taking place, others saying an agreement has already been signed. Nothing can be further from the truth," said Tsvangirai.
He said after the announcement of the run-off election date by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on May 16, no one could change it: "Unless Robert Mugabe concedes defeat. It therefore means that a government of national unity negotiated before the run-off does not arise."
Bur veteran politician and former ZANU-PF treasurer Enos Nkala was singing a different tune from Tsvangirai's yesterday. He said the June 27 presidential run-off should be called off because the poll will not produce any real winner.
Nkala, at whose house ZANU was formed as a breakaway faction from ZAPU predicted President Mugabe would lose massively if he went ahead with the elections because people blamed him for the misery they were experiencing. No amount of intimidation or violence would change the result, he said.
Nkala said the solution was for President Mugabe and Tsvangirai to talk and come up with a GNU. He called on church leaders, progressive chiefs, leaders of civic organisations as well as retired politicians, to facilitate talks between the two leaders.
"Our priority should be to bring about peace so that we can rebuild our country. So (President) Mugabe and Tsvangirai have to talk. Right now, they are both to blame for the present chaos in the country. (President) Mugabe is sponsoring thugs who are perpetrating this violence and so is Tsvangirai."
Nkala, who was number three in ZANU-PF before resigning from both the government and the party in the late 1980s following the Willowvale Motor Industries scandal, said the onus to kick-start the talks was on President Mugabe.
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Thanks for that carpe'. What a wonderful post, it was a pleasure to read.
Couldnt agree more. Great post.
All you anglos are in the way of producing an acceptable resolution in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately blaming President Mbeki is not the answer for Zimbabwe. Thats the reason why the SADC region has kissed you goodbye, never again be part of any problem solving group. The UK, in the last 10 years or so has never been consulted on African affairs. Most of what the UK and other anglos in SADC do is use the louder speaker to lie to the world. You have become totally useless and just a batch of the USA "Pooh". Why deal with the "Pooh" than… [Read Full Text]
"You are just not important to African affairs" - yet you complain so bitterly about these so called sanctions that have supposed led to the destruction of the Zim economy? If the west wasnt important then how come Zim is in trouble? Are you admitting that its the lack of production from farms as a result of land distribution (and I'll give you a bit of weather)
The only thing which stands between the people of Zimbabwe and a totalitarian state and death and starvation are us anglos/westerners/Americans/Europeans/rhodies, etc, it’s a thankless task. One the one hand you have your rank and file pan Africans whose mantra is, “leave Zimbabwe alone, Africa can solve it’s own problems” then the next we have, “give us the money, if you’d have given us the money we’d be fine, just don’t tell us how to spend it”, then we have, “send more aid, give us aids drugs, we want water filtration equipment by the way we hate you” all on… [Read Full Text]
The only thing which stands between the people of Zimbabwe and a totalitarian state and death and starvation are us anglos/westerners/Americans/Europeans/rhodies, etc, it’s a thankless task. One the one hand you have your rank and file pan Africans whose mantra is, “leave Zimbabwe alone, Africa can solve it’s own problems” then the next we have, “give us the money, if you’d have given us the money we’d be fine, just don’t tell us how to spend it”, then we have, “send more aid, give us aids drugs, we want water filtration equipment by the way we hate you” all on… [Read Full Text]
Twice even.....
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It seems that the undisputed “king with his head in the sand (Mbeki)”, has yet again tried not to help the severely mistreated people of Zimbabwe, but his comrade Mugabe. That his methodology will not work is obvious to any scholar, even those with but a cursory education in geopolitics and socioeconomics. President Mbeki persists in seeing his mentor in a light long gone; indeed it has gone out and now only burns with the flame of self indulgence and hatred. There are many points to make, so we will start with the obvious ~ at least obvious… [Read Full Text]