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.
He said President Mugabe had adopted a policy of reconciliation in 1980 when ZANU-PF realised that although it had won the elections it could not run the country effectively without incorporating ZAPU and the whites under Ian Smith.
"We had won the elections by an overwhelming majority (57 out of 80 seats) but we realised that for us to be able to rebuild our country we needed total peace. We could only get the peace if we all came together and worked as one," Nkala said.
"We invited Smith to Quorn Avenue (President Mugabe's residence in Mount Pleasant) and told him about our plan and when he agreed we asked him to address the nation on radio and television to reassure the whites about our policy. We also invited General Peter Walls and asked him to remain commander of the army with his main task being to integrate the three warring armies-- the former Rhodesian forces, ZANLA and ZIPRA.
"We then invited Joshua Nkomo to become head of state as the country's ceremonial president but he opted to join the government as Minister of Home Affairs, and we agreed to that. It was all give and take."
Nkala said ZANU-PF had to forgo a lot of things over which it had gone to war to promote the policy of reconciliation. The situation was much tougher in 1980 than it is today so he did not see any reason why Zimbabweans could not talk to find a lasting solution to the country's problems.
When reminded that it was easier for ZANU-PF then to take the lead because it had won the elections and was therefore inviting people to join it in government, Nkala said the question of who should preside over the government was immaterial at the moment.
"(President) Mugabe or even Tsvangirai can lead. We can't destroy our country because of personalities. We need dedicated Zimbabweans to steer us out of this situation. We don't need outsiders such as (President Thabo) Mbeki, SADC, the British or the United States. We need local wisdom from the churches, civil society and retired politicians so that we can come up with a consensus."
South African media reported on Tuesday that ZANU-PF and MDC were engaged in eleventh-hour talks -- mediated by Mbeki -- to salvage a solution to the political stalemate.
The reports claimed Mbeki continued to play a central role in trying to reconcile the two sides despite MDC criticism of the way he has handled the crisis. The reports said negotiators from both parties fear the June 27 run-off could prove too "dicey."
A run-off cannot avoid the prospect of a hung-parliament, which will be unable to make decisions or pass laws if either President Mugabe or Tsvangirai wins.
The papers said one option being discussed was a "Kenya-style" government of national unity, with President Mugabe remaining head of state and Tsvangirai becoming prime minister.
The South African press said President Mugabe feared that if he lost, even after all the violence, he would then be at the mercy of Tsvangirai and his group. The papers further claimed that for his part Tsvangirai feared that he could lose the election, despite already having "one foot in".
But Tsvangirai dismissed suggestions of a Kenyan style GNU saying that the situation in Zimbabwe was different. "We wish to state that the Kenyan model of government of national unity is not an option because here the people have clearly spoken and our circumstances are different."
Bright Matonga, the Deputy Minister of Information and Publicity, told international news agencies that a government of national unity could be good for Zimbabwe.
"Whoever wins the presidential election will need the other parties to be able to govern. We need each other," said Matonga.
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Thanks for that carpe'. What a wonderful post, it was a pleasure to read.
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 reality. You are just not important to African affairs. In the next 10 years, the UK is expected to drop out of the 20 richest and most prosperous countries in the world. Increasingly cars made in the UK are commonly refered to as "Junk". You have bad food, bad cars, ugly women, your weather is bad, you Island nation (London) is in danger of being swallowed by the sea, you have not won a world cup in Soccer last 50 years, and rumors has it that you are bad lovers. What then do you bring to Zimbabwe or another SADC country?????
"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 the back off the Governments attitude of bullets instead of bread and fighter aircraft rather than filtration equipment.
The SADC kisses the west goodbye? I don’t think so. I had to laugh when you said the SADC was a, “problem solving group”, the SADC is a talking shop for bespoke suited western educated pan Africans.
Any citation for the UK dropping down the economic ladder in 10 years? I didn’t think so, another prophesy for your students? I thought you said the UK would be out of the top thirty a while ago? Make up your mind. Hmm cars made in the UK? Bentley, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Lotus, TVR junk? That perception of junk seems to be in your mind because, “Britain exported more cars in 2007 than in any previous year, with total production up six percent to over 1.5 million”. Mind you I drive a Volvo and my Wife drives a Jeep so I suppose we aren’t lovers of domestic cars. We have bad food? My wife’s Japanese chicken wings are to die for Phiri, I swear she puts heroin in them. We have food! I don’t wait for the aid truck for my allocation of mealie meal.
Maybe there are ugly British women, I don’t care I married a Canadian and take my word for it, she’s a babe. Our weather is notoriously temperate but guess what…..our harvests never fail and we are self sufficient in food.
Phiri you need to google the Thames Flood Barrier sorry to burst your bubble but London isn’t going swimming any time soon. I hate soccer but much prefer Rugby.
Bad lovers hmmm well I’ve never had any complaints but then judging by the AIDS figures in Africa you guys get lots of practice, if we are bad lovers we are at least safe lovers and 1 in 5 of us aren’t infected with a terminal Sexually Transmitted Infection. and 3000 of us don’t die everyday because of a need to demonstrate our sexual prowess.
When has Africa ever refused anything we've ever brought to it phiri? We hate you, give more, leave us alone, lend us money, leave us alone, send more aid: and yet we keep sending the money and the food and the aid and the expertise, like I said it's a thankless task.
Your previous post doesn't stand up well to scrutiny Phiri but then none of your posts ever do, I suspect it's another of your prophecies. You never provide evidence of anything and when anyone does provide evidence contrary to your prophecies you call it lies. You are just like the SADC you talk a real good job but there is little of substance in there, just racist rantings, paranoia and personal attacks.
I didn’t flag Phiris post as racist I’d like it to remain there as long as possible because lets face it. It is undeniably racist and gives a true impression of the author of the post.
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 the back off the Governments attitude of bullets instead of bread and fighter aircraft rather than filtration equipment.
The SADC kisses the west goodbye? I don’t think so. I had to laugh when you said the SADC was a, “problem solving group”, the SADC is a talking shop for bespoke suited western educated pan Africans.
Any citation for the UK dropping down the economic ladder in 10 years? I didn’t think so, another prophesy for your students? I thought you said the UK would be out of the top thirty a while ago? Make up your mind. Hmm cars made in the UK? Bentley, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Lotus, TVR junk? That perception of junk seems to be in your mind because, “Britain exported more cars in 2007 than in any previous year, with total production up six percent to over 1.5 million”. Mind you I drive a Volvo and my Wife drives a Jeep so I suppose we aren’t lovers of domestic cars. We have bad food? My wife’s Japanese chicken wings are to die for Phiri, I swear she puts heroin in them. We have food! I don’t wait for the aid truck for my allocation of mealie meal.
Maybe there are ugly British women, I don’t care I married a Canadian and take my word for it, she’s a babe. Our weather is notoriously temperate but guess what…..our harvests never fail and we are self sufficient in food.
Phiri you need to google the Thames Flood Barrier sorry to burst your bubble but London isn’t going swimming any time soon. I hate soccer but much prefer Rugby.
Bad lovers hmmm well I’ve never had any complaints but then judging by the AIDS figures in Africa you guys get lots of practice, if we are bad lovers we are at least safe lovers and 1 in 5 of us aren’t infected with a terminal Sexually Transmitted Infection. and 3000 of us don’t die everyday because of a need to demonstrate our sexual prowess.
When has Africa ever refused anything we've ever brought to it phiri? We hate you, give more, leave us alone, lend us money, leave us alone, send more aid: and yet we keep sending the money and the food and the aid and the expertise, like I said it's a thankless task.
Your previous post doesn't stand up well to scrutiny Phiri but then none of your posts ever do, I suspect it's another of your prophecies. You never provide evidence of anything and when anyone does provide evidence contrary to your prophecies you call it lies. You are just like the SADC you talk a real good job but there is little of substance in there, just racist rantings, paranoia and personal attacks.
I didn’t flag Phiris post as racist I’d like it to remain there as long as possible because lets face it. It is undeniably racist and gives a true impression of the author of the post.
See all comments (20).
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 to all but Mugabe, his ruling junta, their sadly brainwashed minions . . . and of course, Mbeki. (I once had some admiration for Mbeki, but since his credo has become “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil”, it is no longer possible. ) The problems with the ‘Government of National Unity (GNU)’ is being able to not only control a country, but to lift Zimbabwe out of the hellish morass it is in. They are legion. Let us at least start with a few main points : 1) President Robert Gabriel Mugabe: A one time hero, of that there is no doubt; I used to admire him greatly. He has long since degenerated into a veritable caricature of not only what he started out to get rid of in the revolution, but now makes the frequently unholy attitudes of Ian Smith & Company look tame by comparison. He has, in short, become a megalomaniacal madman, bent on using murder, maiming, starvation and terror to keep himself and his very few friends in power. How can Mbeki not see this? Hero Worship, pure and simple. 2) Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF): The onetime vanguard of African Liberation has, in conjunction with Mugabe, left behind all moral principles in the search for attaining and holding on to political and economic power. They of course are on the forefront of proclaiming that the economy of Zimbabwe is being destroyed by “illegal economic sanctions” by the rest of the world (primarily the U.S. and U.K.), and that they are a “sovereign” nation that can do what they see as right. Okay, let us see. A sovereign nation does indeed have the legal, (and not necessarily moral), right to do what it pleases. So it follows that if Zimbabwe wants to prevent members of a government or business from another country to travel there, that is their right. If the Government of Zimbabwe wants to put a stop to all economic activity by a country or individuals or companies (from any country), that is their right. That is sovereignty, right? Than how is it “illegal” for another nation to do the same? Are they not sovereign? (Or is it “sovereignty”, like everything else, defined by Mugabe/Zanu-PF when and how they see fit?) In the same vein, it might be mentioned that the sanctions are not against the country of Zimbabwe, but against a very limited number of individuals and companies (owned and operated by said same). I haven’t checked it the last couple of weeks, but that number was then approaching 200 individuals / companies. So, using 200 as the liberal number, and Zimbabwe with a population of apx. 12.4 million people, then any ONE of any of the 200, economically, represents 1 in 62000 people. Logic follows that if the entire economy of a country of 12.4 million can collapse because of sanctions on 200 people, then either (a) the entire economy is held by a few select (ZANU-PF) members (making all ‘reforms’ to help the ‘people’ of course farcical), Or (b) they are so out of touch with reality that . . . well, I don’t know . . . then again, these are the folks who danced & sang the praises of a charlatan who THEY claimed managed to bring refined diesel out of a rock. Figure it out. It’s not hard. 3) Morgan Tsvangirai: His greatest strength is knowing not to trust those in power, for they alone are the outright owners of Zimbabwe’s fall from the Breadbasket to the Basket Case. Why in the world would he, or his allies, want to have anything to do with the people who have taken his beloved country from beauty to squalor, from plenty to starvation, from admired to scorned, from freemen to slaves? Is he perfect? No. (Then again, I personally only know of one in all of history, and He was crucified a couple thousand years ago.) Can he do a better job than Mugabe? Yes. (Not to denigrate Mr. Tsvangirai, but at the moment a herd of malnourished goats could probably do better.) Will he TRY to do better, to engage the suffering masses in rebuilding a once proud nation, to lead by example, to root out the corrupt that presently hold sway, to take the offered resources of the world at large to help in rebuilding? I pray so. In short, to think that President Mbeki (and the few fools that still believe he has a grip) could bring about a good and lasting change with a GNU is laughable. He no longer has the guts to say that the fruit has rotted, he would say that it was from a good tree and should be eaten anyway. . . because it is the way it is, and that’s all there is to it. I say it should not be. Pick new fruit, and be nourished. God Bless the Good People of Zimbabwe.