Constantine Chimakure
9 October 2008
THE Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC yesterday suspended talks with Zanu PF on the allocation of cabinet posts until the facilitator of the unity government, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, intervenes.
Tsvangirai, prime minister-designate in the inclusive government, said apart from Mbeki, Sadc and the African Union (AU) should also come in to resolve the impasse as guarantors of the deal signed on September 15.
Speaking to journalists at his Strathaven home in the capital, Tsvangirai said after engaging with Zanu PF at both the negotiators' and principals' level, there was a deadlock on the allocation of ministries.
"There has been no progress made on this entire section as ministries can only be negotiated comprehensively and not individually," Tsvangirai said. "It is not true to say that we are left with two ministries (Finance and Home Affairs) to negotiate as any agreement reached on those two particular ministries would have an effect on the allocation of the rest of the ministries."
He added: "In this regard we have declared a deadlock and therefore the process cannot move forward except in the presence of the facilitator (Mbeki)."
President Robert Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba claimed on Saturday that there were only two outstanding ministries to be allocated after the 84-year-old leader met with Tsvangirai and the leader of the other formation of the MDC, Arthur Mutambara.
"The global political agreement we have is guaranteed by Sadc and the African Union and therefore in the event of a dispute or deadlock, as we have now, the matter should be taken to Sadc and the AU in order for them to assist us," Tsvangirai said. "We have communicated this position to the African Union and to Sadc as well as to the facilitator and have confidence that our African brothers will do everything in their power to ensure that this issue is resolved with speed."
The MDC leader said Mbeki would soon come to Zimbabwe to mediate the dispute and scoffed at Zanu PF pronouncements that there was no need for the facilitator to intervene.
"There is no need for concurrence of all parties that there is a deadlock and that the facilitator should intervene," Tsvangirai said. "Once one party says there is a deadlock, the facilitator should come in."
Efforts to get a comment from Zanu PF chief negotiator Patrick Chinamasa yesterday on the MDC's suspension of talks were in vain as his mobile phone went unanswered.
Tsvangirai said in the allocation of ministries, the MDC was informed by the desire to ensure a fair power-sharing arrangement that would allow the new government to deal with the current economic crisis and at the same time guarantee basic freedoms and democracy to the people.
Tsvangirai said another outstanding issue was that of provincial governors, which Zanu PF said were not included in the inclusive government deal.
He said: "We have not yet deliberated on the outstanding issue of the allocation of governors. This issue remains outstanding considering that as negotiating parties we agreed that the allocation of governors must be in the spirit of the result of the election on March 29.
"There is still an outstanding issue of omissions made in the signed agreement at the signing ceremony...that had been agreed and initialled by all parties when we signed the original agreement on September 11. We are assured that the facilitator will sort out this problem and provide an updated document to the general public."
Turning to another issue, Tsvangirai said the MDC had "watched with dismay" the lack of a paradigm shift in Zanu PF.
He alleged that there was continued use of hate speech in the state media, "trumped up charges" against secretary-general Tendai Biti, MPs and members of the party's structures, and discrimination on the basis of political affiliation in the rural areas.
Tsvangirai said that Local Government minister Ignatious Chombo was interfering with the work of MDC-run councils and was also threatening them.
He said Zanu PF lacked sincerity and commitment to work with the MDC as demonstrated by the government's failure to issue him with a new passport.
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Why is not the MDC just get out, bag and baggage, and go and live in beautiful Lobatse among the Mangwato tribes men. Do the honourable.
Le's pray the MDC get half of the key ministries and stick with the GNU. The alternative would be a terrible earthquake with MDC supporters having recourse to machettes and likes to teach a good lesson to murderer Mugabe and his evil thugs. Who wants a repeat of Rwanda?
Mugabe? His end is well in sight.
Comrade Mabhiza, how are you? Am not well. its almost a year gone trying to hold elections, form a government and rescue our country from this mess. How far has the zanu pf maturity helped to make the lives of zimbos better? lets not use political language like "immaturity" because the mature have caused a lot of mess. lets try the immature and if they cannot rescue the country koz the mature have not acted and behaved maturely in the past. Comrade Prem, ndaneta ndipeiwo mazano!
Lunatic Mugabe, the BIG liar, the evil, the devil. Even Zim kids know that. Mabhiza seems to ignore what is evident to the naked eye!
Shame!
Comrade Mabhiza,If anybody is frustrating the talks is your party ZANU PF and its myopic leader Mugabe. Please be serious. Its almost a year now, the farming season is about to start, grade seve exams couldn't kick-off, universities failed to open, people have no food and other basics, the country has no its money(ZW$). What measure of failure would you want to use for Zanu's non performance? Are you waiting for an Angel to announce that ZANU has failed and they are simply sitting on the chamber to cover their mercy? Advise your leader that "zvaramba hand over the button to somebody who is mandated by the mass and prepared to mop up the mercy though its smelly hence not any easy task". Dont take the nation for granted, our patience need to be rewarded. 20years under "black" misrule is no joke, we are in a maximum prison without visible guards, a jail with wide perimeters, full of filthy, hunger, illtreatment and abuse from the prison authorities. What a suprise, 28 years in power you still want to learn to resolve our squables internally? after a long walk you are noticing there is no need for external mediation? What a chameleon? Can you be trusted, by who, from where?
SHAMELESS HYPOCRISY at its worst,these naive mdc-t supporters whine and mourn about the immense hardships but they forget that it's tsvangirai and his mdc-t cohorts who went globetrotting and called for economic sanctions against their own supporters...then sanctions came viciously, ripped apart their own kith and kin..tsvangirai, as an empty vessel with no mind of its own was used by outsiders against the interests of his own kith and kin..kushandiswa nevekunze..Therefore his suporters , musatombochema zvenyu ,
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I think morgan is trying to frustrate the cabinet talks here,maybe in the hope that the deal collapses.. because in his and his Western sponsors' misguided view , a collapsed deal strengthens MDC-T's position..His lack of concern for zimbabweans' plight is confirmed with the walk outs on the talks...Let's learn to solve our squabbles among ourselves internally..There is really no need to call the facilitator at this stage of talks, because these are now purely sensitive ,zimbabwean affairs of allocating cabinet posts..The mdc-t is seriously found wanting interms of political maturity..