Caiphas Chimhete
27 September 2008
Harare — MDC leader and Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday called for an urgent formation of a power-sharing government to end the current crisis bedevilling the country.
Addressing a press conference in Harare yesterday, Tsvangirai, who is expected to meet President Robert Mugabe "in the next few days", said the deadlock was surmountable.
"I'm sure there are no problems in the outline of the agreement that are not surmountable," Tsvangirai said.
Mugabe, who is attending the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, is expected back in the country this week.
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister-designate Professor Arthur Mutambara on September 15 signed a powering-sharing deal that is expected to end the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
But the deal reached a stalemate after Mugabe and Tsvangirai failed to agree on the allocation of the ministries of defence, home affairs, information and finance.
Once formed, Tsvangirai said, the new government must work to end the crisis that has caused untold suffering among Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwe is facing unprecedented food and fuel shortages as well as hyper-inflation and widespread poverty and unemployment.
"It is imperative that a government be formed in the next few days and begin to implement plans to ensure that our people have food and do not die of starvation," said Tsvangirai who recently toured the countryside assessing the food and humanitarian situation.
The MDC leader said his assessment showed "a state of emergency" in the area of food security. He said an estimated 5.1million people in the country need food aid. In some parts of the country, families were surviving on wild fruits and roots as they had run out of food.
"Food agencies are feeding approximately four million people and will need to feed 5,5 million people by January 2009," Tsvangirai said.
This current agricultural season, he said, is threatened by the shortage of inputs such as fertiliser and seed. The country needs about 625 000 tonnes of fertiliser but only 25 000 tonnes are available.
Tsvangirai also lamented the state of the economy saying most of the economic sectors had become dysfunctional. He said the mining sector was operating at below 5% of capacity while the food and manufacturing sectors are working at 10% of capacity.
The MDC leader expressed concern about reported cases of intolerance and violence in some parts of the country.
"The culture of political victimisation and polarisation on account of differences of opinion should be a thing of the past."
The MDC said at least 130 of its supporters were killed by Zanu PF supporters and state security agents after the March elections in which Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe but without a sufficient majority to claim the presidency.
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Mabhiza: stop waffling. Tsvangirai did not bring sanctions. In fact we did not have any sanctions in place against Zimbabwe; we only had targetted sanctions against the ZANU (PF) hierarchy. The problems Zimbabwe have emanate from corruption; misuse of land by ZANU (PF) politicians, extreme tyranny by Mugabe and his gang etc. Mabhiza should not pretend to be enlightened; he knows nothing and is being paid to write rubbish.
maricho and others who will read this comment have to come to terms that the 2 MDCs finnally admitted to the presence of economic strangulation due to the illegal economic sanctions..Whatever their supporters, like u bro, say in denying this is now irrelevant...As for us the true patriots of our beloved Zimbabwe we got a major boost...by the Article IV of the unity agreement, i suggest u read it, its the section on Sanctions. I bet ,maricho u haven't read it...Well ,it basically states that all the 3 principles acknowledge that Zim became economically isolated due to sanctions like the ruinous Zim democracy &economic recovery act then the declared and undeclared sanctions by EU along with many other countries created a negative perception about the country , subsequently the economy suffered...I tell u something bro , this section is the most essential one in our war against these coercive illegal measures..so u must know that your party mdc was used by outsiders against the interests of its own kith and kin by inviting such painful economic isolation..
Mabhiza, you talk alot of nonsense and you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Tsvangarai never begged for economic sanctions. Why would anyone from the west want to invest their money into the 14th most corrupt country in the world? Surely you cant blame the west for the curruption that is so prevalant in Zimbabwe. The only person to blame for this corupt country has to be Mugabe. And hence the lack of investment in Zimbabe has to be Mugabes fault also. Pretty simple really.
Another question. Do these so called sanctions that you keep crapping on about give Mugabe the right to beat, rape and murder his own poeple?
And you really did miss read the unity document. Where does it say anything about the EU? Stop making crap up. Here are some lines from the 'Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001' and hence the reasons for it.. "FINDINGS- Congress makes the following findings: (1) Through economic mismanagement, undemocratic practices, and the costly deployment of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Government of Zimbabwe has rendered itself ineligible to participate in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Monetary Fund programs..."
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"The Secretary of the Treasury shall... direct the United States executive director of each international financial institution to which the United States is a member to propose to undertake financial and technical support for Zimbabwe, especially support that is intended to promote Zimbabwe's economic recovery and development, the stabilization of the Zimbabwean dollar, and the viability of Zimbabwe's democratic institutions."
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"The President is authorized to ... support equitable, legal, and transparent mechanisms of land reform in Zimbabwe, including the payment of costs related to the acquisition of land and the resettlement of individuals, consistent with the International Donors' Conference on Land Reform and Resettlement in Zimbabwe held in Harare, Zimbabwe, in September 1998" << And they even want to pay for your land reform!!!!>>
See Mabhiza... you really have no idea what you are talking about.
Bro,, awt_independent that's why i said whatever supporters of the MDC say now in denying sanctions existence or trying to gloss over them is now irrelevant and not worthy of scrutinising..What matters now is that the 2 MDCs acknowledged & recognised article iv (sanctions)of unity deal..and that section has to be publicised to the world about the role sanctions played in plunging us into socio economic problems we find ourselves in today.......
You miss the point. Why were these measures taken against Zimbabwe in the first place? Because Congress found that "through economic mismanagement, undemocratic practices, and the costly deployment of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Government of Zimbabwe has rendered itself ineligible to participate in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Monetary Fund programs..."
Why should Zimbabwe be access to the worlds funds when Mugabe is corrupt, beats his people etc. If Mugabe allowed democratic elections etc, there would be no need for these sanctions. You only have one person to blame for the troubles in Zimbabwe and that is Mugabe. The Act clearly states what needs to be done to turn these measures off. But Mugabe was too greedy to keep his power, rather than implement true democracy for sake of his people and remove these measures.
How else do you manage a man that butchers his people?
My Dear Mahbiza, please stop ridiculing yourself by claiming to be "the true patriots of our beloved Zimbabwe"!! Millions of the true patriots have had to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. They have refused to serve under an illegitimate murderer like Mugabe. People like you have lacked courage to denounce the rotten banana republic of lunatic Mugabe and thugs.
Why do you hide ridiculously behind the illusion that sanctions destroyed the economy of the country? People like you have contributed towards the economic gloom because you failed to boot out the murderer. You want prosperity and at the same time you want to continue to support a murderer and illegitimate President?? Can you eat your banana while at the same time keep it?? It's time you stop with your lunatic perception to blame Tsvangirai for your own cowardness!!
Why can't you denounce Mugabe for spending one whole week in New york while your citizens are unable to find basic food? Stop messing around and act the responsible way by getting rid of the monster who is at the root of all your problems. He is no more a hero. He has turned heartless, he is full of greed, he likes to enjoy the comfort of the Western world on the back of his suffering folks.
What do you do with such vampires? Praise them? Support them? Defend them? As you are doing?
Act differently if you want meaningful change in Zimbabwe. Otherwise, you will continue to live in a rotten banana republic! But I doubt if you will. The situation will change dramatically against the vampire in the coming months. Just keep watching. Monster Mugabe will know the fate meted out to dictators like Mobutu, Déby, Karadzic, Doe, taylor, etc.
Do you realize that Mugabe is being described as forming part of the Club of the five worst dictators of the world?
Do you feel proud about this as one of "the true patriots of our beloved Zimbabwe"!! as you pompously describe yourself? As an African and an activisit for meaningful change on our continent, I feel terribly ashamed about you and your cowardness!
mabhiza please - i dunno how the likes of you are rebuked firmly enough, but really just face it you are talking the worst kind of balderdash now (as usual!)! Those sanctions are in place to bring that nefarious and unnecessary regime down chete! remember: Murmabatsvina, farm invasions, jambanja, state sponsored violence, this years violent elction campaigns, killing,raping etc, Gono and his rdidculous 'fiscal' reform attempts; in fact do you live in the same sane and sympathetic world we do - just leave the West alone. Let those sanctions remain kana kuwedzera (ad more) better!!! In fact they shouldn't even aid you Zimbos if that's how you insist in being - i can't wait for a time when the likes of you will never walk this earth again! Shameful! Did you hear the rubber he was on about upon his return from excreting even worse totile sentiments in New York?
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Morgan is now gradually coming face to face with the tragic effects of the ruinous economic sanctions that he & his cohorts in MDC-T used to beg for from their Western sponsors..Consequently, Zim became isolated from international financial institutions &investors to Zim were turned away by the West..A guilty conscience needs no accuser..Well ,morgan has to work flatout to help in rebuilding the house his western backers &his party were subotaging to get to power..He will surely find out that its easy to ruin than to build..After a decade of denial , the 2 MDCs finnally agreed with President R.G.Mugabe on the existence& ruinous effects of the illegal economic sanctions imposed on 13 million Zimbabweans for daring to reclaim their birthright- land...these sanctions are responsible for the socio-economic problems we find ourselves in this day.