Harare — THE MDC yesterday angrily dismissed as "Mugabe's giant act of madness" President Robert Mugabe's announcement of the allocation of government ministries to Zanu PF and the two MDC formations.
On Friday, Mugabe announced -- through a government gazette -- that he had allocated 30 ministries to the three parties. He said one ministry -- Finance, was still outstanding.
The announcement came few hours after Mugabe met MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Professor Arthur Mutambara to resolve the allocation of ministries.
The meeting ended in a deadlock and the three leaders agreed to refer the matter to the facilitator, former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, who is expected in Harare tomorrow.
Announcement of the allocation of government ministries yesterday drew fire from the MDC, which described it as a mere "wish list and giant act of madness".
The MDC said it could not be useless "accessories" in a Zanu PF government.
MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa described Mugabe's move to allocate ministries as "arrogant, unilateral, contemptuous and outrageous".
He said it was a betrayal of the spirit of the power-sharing deal signed in Harare on September 15 in the presence of the facilitator and regional leaders from Sadc.
Chamisa said the MDC would not be party to Mugabe's "wish-list".
"Zanu PF cannot nocturnally allocate ministries barely hours after the three principals agreed to disagree by referring the matter to the mediator after a logjam over all key ministries," Chamisa said. "In fact, it is a giant act of madness, which puts the whole deal into jeopardy. We will not accept being accessories to a government that is principally Zanu PF."
The MDC spokesperson said basing on Mugabe's list, "it's easy for Zanu PF to run the country on the basis of the ministries they have allocated themselves".
"We did not append our signatures to a power-grabbing deal by Zanu PF," Chamisa said. "It is a power-sharing deal, and let it be real power-sharing and responsibility sharing so that we are able to inspire confidence in Zimbabweans."
The allocation of ministries, he said, was a clear strategy to try and pre-empt the arrival of the mediator, as well as the intervention of Sadc and the African Union.
He appealed to the international community to urgently intervene and "protect Zimbabweans against Mugabe's machinations".
The MDC said if the power-sharing deal collapsed, they would need fresh elections that are internationally supervised.
"We are now waiting for Sadc to come in and try to adjudicate the process," he said. "If that fails, it's back to square one. We have to have fresh elections that are internationally supervised so that we deal with this outstanding matter."
In the absence of such an arrangement and the September 15 deal, Chamisa said, the MDC would withdraw its endorsement of Mugabe for the transitional inclusive government.
Tsvangirai will today address a rally at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare to spell out the party's position.
MDC-M spokesperson Edwin Mu-shoriwa described the gazetting of ministries as "mischievous".
"The process of the allocation of ministries has not been concluded and hence the decision by the principals to recall Mbeki. We dismiss what Mugabe has done with the contempt it deserves," Mushoriwa told The Standard last night.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon called on the political leadership to put the country first and reach a workable agreement on the composition of the cabinet so as to begin the all important task of rebuilding the country.
Talks over the allocation of key ministries have reached a deadlock, invoking panic in the United Nations. There had been hopes that the political deal could end Zimbabwe's devastating economic meltdown.
The deadlock comes as the UN has just announced that the food crisis in Zimbabwe has reached emergency proportions. The UN World Food Programme is appealing for financial donations of US$140 million to feed about five million hungry Zimbabweans for the next six months.
Reactions among Zimbabweans ranged from anger at a dream deferred to resignation at prospects of turning around the country's decade-long decline.
University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer Eldred Masunungure said Mugabe's action was designed to pre-empt Mbeki's mediation effort.
"It's a pre-emptive move to Mbeki to say this is what we want. Mugabe has taken the lion's share and gave a mouse' to MDC," said Masunungure. "What Mugabe has done breeds ill-wish and it deepens distrust between the parties."
He said Mugabe's actions showed Zanu PF's self-centredness, a development that does not in any way solve the crisis in the country.
Bulawayo-based political analyst Jethro Mpofu said, "The people of Zimbabwe are impatient for change. There is need for political leaders to demonstrate a sense of urgency in their deliberation because the economic and human crisis in the country is getting dire everyday."
But Mpofu said all hope was not lost after Mugabe refrained from unilateral gazetting the Ministry of Finance as he did with those of home affairs and local government which are still being contested.
"In my view he has effectively given that ministry to the MDC and we must be hopeful that the impasse will be broken," he said.
Others felt that Zanu PF was being insensitive by insisting on retaining control of all the important ministries contrary to the spirit of agreement, which caused for a fifty-fifty power sharing agreement.
"The MDC must not accept a junior role in government," said Khanyele Ndlovu a security guard.
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No surprise that Robert Mugabe still refuses to acknowledge that he is not the "boss" of the government of National Unity. Worse off, he is still in denial that Zimbabweans no longer support him and that in any free and fair elections he would loose!
This was expected, but not to the extent that we are now seeing. Mugabe refuses to see the changes that are occuring throughout Southern Africa. He is the only one still holding on to power and he is a classic dictator! He refuses to acknowledege the bad economy affecting ordinary people. This is the great tragedy of Zimbabwe!
Mugabe is setting himself up for a blood bath...or eventual criminal trial at what he is putting the country thru. Zimbabweans wished that Mugabe would move forward with National gov't in good faith, but clearly we are openly seeing something else.
Well taken, Phiri. We did not preach in the desert! What you need to do now is pluck some more courage and bring into your fold people like AK..47 and ensure that people in Southern Africa line up behind a real movement for genuine change in the rotten political order in this banana republic.
Zimbabweans alone will not succeed. What they need is support from the region, moral and otherwise. Mugabe kept many of them under terror for too long. Dehumanised, terrorised and hungry are what the murderer likes to inflict on his citizens. Phiri joins us in warning that unless people's misery is stopped, Mugabe will be chased out of power violently. Like Bokassa, Mobutu, Idriss Déby, Charles taylor and cohorts.
People in another country, particularly West Africa, would have taught Mugabe the lesson of his life. He would never have been allowed in the streets and even the military and police, in large numbers, would have rallied behind the people's cry for his skin!
It's true Zimbos are less brazen thna our West African folks. But for how long? When one has nothing to lose and he is dieing of hunger, one will just give one's life to live under a better sky. Zimbos are no different!
Bad luck for the murderer whose days are counted!
That is wishful thinking Prem, you are a fool of the last degree if u think people are not revolting against the Govt of Zimbabwe because they are not braven. The people of Zimbabwe are clearly aware of who has caused all the misery they are going thru. They know that Mugabe is the most democratic person in Southern Africa, no wonder why he has tolerated sellout Tsvangirai (Mr Boycott) until this time. Zimbabweans were born out of the struggle for self determination and so they know what they want - empowerment and total independence. They may be suffering under McGee's sanctions but we are going to bequeath to our children an independent country unlike other African countries which depend on Western aid to run their country - imagine 60% budget support. West Africans who have killed and ousted great leaders like Nkuruma have not developed an inch they are still where they have been for the past 50 years. After only 28 years minus first 10 years, Zimbabwe has the empowered its people and has best educated people in the world.
"They know that Mugabe is the most democratic person in Southern Africa" What an absolute joke! I havent heard anything so funny in such a long time! How dare you say that a man whe beats, rapes, murders and tortures his own people to keep his greedy corrupt hand on power is the most democratic person in Southern Africa. Democracy includes the freedom of expression, but yet how many newspapers are banned in Zimbabwe, it also means freedom for polictical parties to meet and campaign during an election, which we did not see. It also means the the military arent told who they are supposed to vote for. Hell, even Mugabe said that the bullet is mightier than the pen.
And Zimbabwe has had empowerment and total independence now for nearly 30 years, and you can see what Mugabe has done with that power. The country is f*cked! Its the 14th most corrupt country in the world. You cant blame that on anyone but Mugabe. The productivity of the farms has been destroyed with farms being given to ministers instead of capable farmers, and the economic policy has been left seriously wanting. You cant go blaming sanctions either, South Africa was under alot heavier sanctions for alot longer and still remained a stable economy. A question for you, how much money does Mugabe has wholed up in foreign accounts while the rest of his country suffers? As for McGee's sanctions, I suggest you actually have a read of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 before you start complaining about it.
As for the best educated people in the world, well, thats just a joke. You schools arent even opening at the moment.
Geez there are some dumb people in this world. I think you should back to your village... its missing its idiot.
Hie Awt_Independent
I will repeat myself for your bet understanding. Mugabe is the most democratic leader in the whole of Africa - this is a fact. For your own information Magabe has not done a single thing of what you accuse him of committing. Mugabe has been consistent in every respect. He has given people education, health care, infrastructure, education, and lately land. If you close me in a cage and do not allow me to go out and hunt for my children, are you not imposing sanctions on me? If you go to my neighbours and turn them against me, are you not imposing sanctions on me? If you wont allow me to borrow money from my friends and relatives, are those not sanctions? If you wont allow me to sell my products to the highest bidder are you not imposing sanctions on me? These my friends Awt_Independent, Prem and all like minded, are what has brought Zimbabwe to where it is today - schools cannot open, hospitals are closing down, roads are potholed, people cannot even get salt of all things. We are on the verge of starvation because of McGee and Tony Blair and the whole western world.
South Africa was not under sanctions during aparthied, neither was Rhodesia - America traded with them claiming that sanctions will hurt the black people. The only sanctions in SA during aparthied were sports sanctions and you can not honestly call that economic. But in Zimbabwe all companies that are not British or American owned are under sanctions. How do you expect the country to move forward in that situation. I think you are craze if u think Zimbabwe can perform miracles when it is under the jaws of murderers like US and UK - just look at Iraq and Afghanstan. As for democracy, well, Zimbabwe has space for every one to freely do what they want but within the law. If you do not follow the rule of law obviously you cannot operate in Zimbabwe. The Daily News for example refused to register as per the law and I am sure you did not expect the government to just let it operate simple because it is an opposition paper, NO! Everybody has to abide by the law of the land until that law is changed or repealed. Even in your America, which you like so much, you cannot operate without registering with the authorities otherwise you will be called a terrorist and sent to Guantanamo without trial. You said Zimbabwe is the 14th most corrupt country, who said that? Obviously it is your west who are saying that. Who is more corrupt one who brings down an economy as big as the American one and Mugabe whose Zimbabwe has survived strangulation for close to 10 years. Get off it my man!
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