Dumisani Muleya
30 July 2008
Johannesburg — BARRING last-minute changes, President Thabo Mbeki will visit Zimbabwe today for crucial meetings with that country's main political parties and their leaders involved in power-sharing talks, in a bid to clear hurdles to a final agreement.
Mbeki's surprise trip to Harare could make or break the negotiations, which are at a delicate stage.
Despite reports the talks stalled on Monday, informed sources said "tremendous progress" had been made, although there were a "few critical issues to sort out". They said all issues on the agenda had been agreed upon, except the sticking point of positions and powers.
"The final agreement is almost there, but there are a few issues on posts and political jurisdiction that need to be finalised," a source said. "Mbeki has tabled a draft proposal and this is what they are trying to clear before a final agreement is written, adopted and signed."
Mbeki said in a joint conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday in Pretoria that the talks had been adjourned and had not failed.
Mubarak, who has been in power about as long as President Robert Mugabe, is in SA on an official visit.
Mbeki is expected to meet Mugabe and Zanu (PF) negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche. He is also due to meet opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara.
Tsvangirai's emissaries, Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma, and Mutambara's envoys, Welshman Ncube and Priscillah Misihairabwi-Mushonga, will also attend the meetings. Mbeki's mediators, Sydney Mufamadi, Frank Chikane and Mojanku Gumbi will also be there.
The Zanu (PF) negotiators flew back to Harare on Monday.
The MDC participants including Tsvangirai, who was in SA, were due to return home last night.
Mbeki would follow today for the meetings ahead of an emergency gathering of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) organ on politics, defence and security in Angola on Friday.
Presidential spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga was unable to confirm or deny Mbeki's trip to Harare.
The SADC organ meeting has been called to discuss the Zimbabwe crisis in the light of the talks.
Sources said today's meetings would focus on resolving outstanding issues -- including Tsvangirai's position -- which led to the adjournment of the talks on Monday.
It is said that Tsvangirai is earmarked for the anticipated post of prime minister, while Mugabe would remain as executive president.
Some of Tsvangirai's supporters are said to object to this proposal, as they feel he would be ineffective unless he has executive authority. Tsvangirai is also said to have been offered -- and to have rejected -- the post of third vice-president.
However, last week Mugabe and Tsvangirai had apparently agreed to a power-sharing arrangement and positions after private meetings at the Rainbow Towers hotel in Harare.
A government of national unity deal was expected soon after the breakthrough meetings.
Informed sources said the constitution would soon be amended to facilitate the envisaged agreement. They said a 19th constitutional amendment was to be a transitional mechanism between the present constitution and an expected new one.
The amendment would be largely designed to accommodate Tsvangirai and other MDC officials in the new government.
The number of appointed senators would be increased from five to 11 to make space for MDC appointees, including Tsvangirai and Mutambara. In terms of the constitution, no one can be appointed to the cabinet without being elected to parliament.
Currently, Mugabe can appoint only five senators, not enough to accommodate losing Zanu (PF) candidates and unelected MDC officials.
The acting spokesman for Tsvangirai's MDC faction, Tapiwa Mashakada, said last night negotiators were on their way back home for "consultations with their principals".
"The talks have adjourned. Negotiators are coming back to consult their principals and give a comprehensive briefing to the parties. After that the talks will resume," he said.
Mbeki has also said the talks had not broken down, but had adjourned until the weekend. This came after Tsvangirai's camp claimed the talks had stalled.
A senior member of Mutambara's faction closely following the negotiations said: "The talks have not collapsed, as claimed. In fact, tremendous progress has been made and we expect a final deal very soon."
Mutambara said at the weekend the "process we have started will result in a political settlement to this impasse".
Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said in the state media yesterday talks were progressing well despite threats posed by the US and European Union targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies.
The current round of talks started on July 10 in Pretoria and are expected to end on Monday.
A memorandum of understanding to pave the way for substantive talks was signed last week in Harare.
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Hey its a pity some people want the crisis in Zim to continue. People are sufering and the best way is the talks. there is no winner takes all in politics, in anything. The talks are a great opportunity to get Zimbabwe on track. And the words like you have just said are inconsiderate to the people who are facing problems on the ground. Be sure of one thing, if talks stall, Mugabe and Tsvangirai will be the last to feel the effects. dont be ignorant....politricks is just that tricks...
The majority of Zimbabweans have voted for MDC to assume power.
If Mbeki is going to Harare to squeeze Mugabe to accept the symbolic post of non-exec President to make room for MDC to occupy the executive post of PM, so far so good. Mbeki's help will thus be immensely invaluable in implementing the respect of the will of the majority in Zimbabwe.
Can he circumvent the tricks of the shrewd and cumming Mugabe? It is indeed in Mugabe's interest to bow down. But can this hardheaded tyrant see the writings on the wall? His cronies surrounding him in their last battle to save their own skin are perhaps overshadowing his view to the extent that he cannot see beyond the tip of his nose!!
A nose that may soon start to bleed under the imminent accession of Zuma to the helm in SA.
One can understand Mbeki's frenetic efforts to save the situation in Zimbabwe. But should he not have acted years earlier, which would have saved millions of Zimbabweans from roaming the streets in Jo'burg?
Mbeki's efforts to save Al-Bashir is not comprehensible to commoners in Southern Africa. His comments that there was no crisis in Harare stuuned the world and allowed murderous Mugabe to steal the run off elections. In return for the Chinese backing him at the UN against sanctions against Mugabe, he gives the impression that he is now thanking the Chinese in the Al-Bashir case of genocide!
Will Mugabe now come to the rescue of Mbeki's flawed image? has Mugabe ever been magnanimous with anybody except his cronies?
Will Mugabe come to the rescue of Mbeki by sacrificing his thirst for clinging to illegitimate power?
May be not! Like millions of Zimbabweans, I wish Mugabe rescues Mbeki by giving credibility to Mbeki's various statements that talks were in progress; that Mugabe steps down from holding executive power.
Anything less will put back the wheel of progress not only in Zimbabwe but across Africa. instead of struggling to promote development and prosperity on the continent, we will continue to spend precious times defending criminals like the lot of Mugabe, Al-Bashir, etc.
Our sons and daughters are already restless. There is a limit to patience. Let's all hope Mbeki will succeed to salvage the situation in Zimbabwe the way the majority has already pronounced itself.
Mbeki is as corrupt as the rest of them. Can the world not see that he is favour of the Zanu-PF regime. We all know the history of him and Mugabe and the family ties that bind them together. Surely the right thing for him to have done was to make sure that the Dictator in Zimbabwe (Mugabe) was removed from power due to the highly illegal and contraversial elections that took place. We are all going on about that crazy Karadzic going to the Hague for the atrocious war crimes he committed. Surely Mugabe should also go on trial for the blood he has shed in order to stay in power. He is nothing but a thug and a villain, but with people like Mbeki on side, praising him, what are the chances of that ever happenning. We all wonder why Africa is like it is? Well, we have the answer right before us...
Mugabe continues to be one of Africa's greatest embarrassments and shames. This entire process (of renegotiating a stolen election) can be summed up in one phrase; "I want to continue stealing". Anything or anyone that gets in the way will be steamrollered, killed, dispatched, fudged, lied about, lied to, negotiated to death, dismissed or just ignored. What a complete waste of an opportunity. The best (or worst) part of the situation is that Zim's money, with bills now into the hundreds of billions, are used as a joke on international television. All the world can laugh at the desperation of the Mugabe regime to keep up the ring of theft, yet no one, absolutely no one, including the increasingly-complicit Mbeki, will actually do anything forceful about it.
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Please wake up cde Akafunde1! Join us in denouncing the rottens of today who want at all cost to cling to power illegally.
Don't wait for freedom loving people to come to your rescue until after you witness Mugabe and thugs kill, maim or rape your wife, daughter or sister. Sorry, it's a very blunt way put it. 5 million Zimbabweans like you had to seek refuge in SA just because they do not want to get crushed under the terror of murderer Mugabe.
You concede he has murdered and butchered. Join us and be by the side of those whose hearts are bleeding.
Mugabe has innumerable tricks and schemes to fool people around, even Mbeki. So I am not surprised that you too has fallen prey of his crocodile charm!!
Just wait and see how he is going to unleash his thugs should Tsvangirai rejects his offer for the position of 3rd VP. Today, Mugabe has already guven a glimpse of his intention to introduce s state of emergency should retailers overcharge customers.
Cunning he is indeed! The emergency is not against retailers, it is just to terrorise MDCs into accepting his offer. Mbeki is being circumvented in his efforts to squeeze Mugabe.
How naive were Mugabe and his currency manager when they introduced billion Dollar notes? Didn't they know then that even some sophisticated calculators cannot handly figures in billion??
God-annoited Mugabe has perhaps lately become senile. Don't you think the Central Bank governor Gono knew about the limits of calculators! He executes diligently whatever Mugabe dictates and he was no fool to bring Mugabe to reality until the reality caught everybody.
Don't wait until you get drowned with Mugabe's blunders to call for solidarity. We are there already and we want to accompany all freedom and justice loving Zimbabweans in their quest to get rid of tyrants and murderers in the hope that the country could be put back to genuine recovery.
In that case STOP forthwith denouncing Bush and Blair for all the kids and women they have killed in iraq etc...because in your twisted little murderous mind...they are GREAT men!!! you are a disgrace to africans...I hope you are not in daily contact with foreigners for they will all and one walk away convinced that Africans are THICK murdering thugs!!!!
Matin in Canada...a great post...please keep your common sense posts flowing and ignore these boneheads on here who will justify rape to make RGM(as they laughingly call the little thug) look saintly!!!!
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This is not going to solve Zimbabwe's problems, just postpone them to the next election. Have we not learnt anything from the ZANU-PF/PF-ZAPU saga. Mugabe silences the opposition by killing them, then making a peace offering until he is threatened with loss of power. The MDC should pull out of the talks, the rot will take care of Mugabe as he runs out of money and options.