BuaNews (Tshwane)
Bathandwa Mbola
13 October 2008
Harare — Former President Thabo Mbeki will travel to Zimbabwe on Monday to try to assist in a political deadlock over the agreed upon unity government in that country.
Speaking to BuaNews, his spokesperson, Mukoni Ratshitanga said he would meet with the country's political leadership to continue the SADC- mandated facilitation process which he began in March which is designed to end years of political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
"Yes he [Mbeki] and his delegation are flying to Harare later this afternoon to make sure there is a solution to the power-sharing deal," said Mr Ratshitanga.
He told BuaNews that Mr Mbeki will be accompanied by a facilitation team of former provincial and local government minister Sydney Mufamadi, director general in the presidency Rev Frank Chikane and Advocate Mojanku Gumbi.
President Robert Mugabe, opposition MDC party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and head of a breakaway faction of the opposition Arthur Mutambara resolved to approach Mr Mbeki after failing again to break the impasse over Cabinet posts.
Mr Mbeki, who clinched the Zimbabwe power-sharing deal days before he was forced to give up South Africa's presidency by his ruling ANC party, has agreed to continue his mediation role.
The South African government supports Mr Mbeki's role and has agreed that he needs to continue with the mediation.
"Mr Mbeki's facilitation efforts in Zimbabwe have proven his dispassionate vision for a lasting political solution to the challenges facing Zimbabwe," said President Kgalema Motlanthe.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Mr Motlanthe said: "Our government has full confidence in Mr Mbeki's ability to build on the historic successes already made in the power sharing negotiations under his mediation."
The power-sharing agreement signed by Zimbabwe's three biggest political parties stipulates that Mr Mugabe will remain president while Mr Tsvangirai becomes prime minister and Mr Mutambara deputy prime minister.
The agreement which is outlined under a Sept 15 power-sharing deal, allots 15 Cabinet posts to ZANU PF, 13 to the Tsvangirai-led MDC and three to Mutambara's faction.
However the bare-bones agreement does not say who gets which specific posts and the rival parties have since the signing of the agreement wrangled over who should control the important ministries of home affairs, finance, local government, foreign affairs.
For this reason the deadlock is attributed to disagreements over ministries of finance and home affairs.
If agreement is not reached, Mr Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of the deal if new mediation efforts fail to break a deadlock over cabinet posts.
Crisis-weary Zimbabweans had hoped a power-sharing government would be quickly established to begin work to reverse an economic crisis.
This week, Zimbabwe's economy plumbed to new lows when the government Central Statistical Office released fresh figures showing annual inflation at 231 million percent, the highest such rate in the world.
Hyperinflation is the most visible sign of Zimbabwe's deep recession that has left more than 80 percent of the labour force without jobs and triggered shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency. - BuaNews-NNN
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mabhiza is an idiot. the eu and britain have no interest in running zimbabwe. there is nothing to run. they are interested in fixing the humanitarian crisis in that country, but this idiot probably doen't need any help because he is stealing from the impoverished. how can mugabe unilaterally allocate cabinet posts? but it probably suits the idiot.
Lexus u are the most idiotic person I have ever known. If by now u do not know that imperialists have interests not only in Zimbabwe but in the whole of the third world then it only goes to show how unintelligent u are. There is a lot to get in Zimbabwe. Lest u did not know, Zimbabwe has all the best minerals in the world. Zimbabwe has the best educated workforce in the world - no wonder why they are stealing our doctors, nurses and all the professionals u can think of. How do u say that they want… [Read Full Text]
Tanuya,and the other joker, you are definitely Zanu.90% of the Zimbos are fed up with you people and yet you rant on the net under the guise of colonialism.Growup and stop crying over the west.It is shameful to me as African to hear another African always blaming the whiteman for our problems as if we Blacks don't have brains to run our own affairs.But I can understand what you Zanus are up to, PASSING THE BUCK!!!!Shameless bunch of thieves and murderers.
No! You are wrong ss_conteh, I am Zanu 101%. I am not ashamed to say that because Zanu-pf is the party of the people, it is a revolutionary party, it is the party of the future. Just go back a bit to the 29 March 2008 elections and you will understand what I am talking about. With shelves empty, McGee bribing voters through ZESN and all the other NGOs Zanu-pf managed to score highly like that. Where a similar situation existed during election the ruling party could not secure a single seat. Had Zanu-pf not been infiltrated by McGee and… [Read Full Text]
Ndizvozvo mwana veVU. You are on the right track! You make me proud!!!
"Zanu-pf is the party of the people, it is a revolutionary party, it is the party of the future. Just go back a bit to the 29 March 2008 elections and you will understand what I am talking about." Dont you mean a party that rapes, beats, murders and tortures its own people to get power? Dont you mean its the 14th most corrupt government in the world? Dont you mean that its one of the most undemocratic political parties that teaches its children that its better to beat up people than to win things fairly? And yes.. they also… [Read Full Text]
"Zimbabwe has all the best minerals in the world." Geeez you really talk alot of shite.
"Zimbabwe has the best educated workforce in the world" what nonsense. your schools cant even open. And I can guarantee that any Zimbabwean educated doctor or nurse would have to retrain in any western country for them to be able to work.
So exactly what sanctions are you talking about? Are you talking about the travel restrictions of government ministers? How the hell did these affect the country! Why would another country want to lend money and support a country that is ranked the… [Read Full Text]
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Tsvangirai's Western sponsors have no shame at all, over the continued blatant interference in our domestic affairs..Even when all the 3 parties signed a broad based agreement that condemned all forms of external interference..The frenzy & hysteria in Europe after the allocation of cabinet posts on saturday clearly shows that Britain is behind tsvangirai's renewed stubbornness..Miliband's utterances, as if he's tsvangi's spokesman..EU, US, please BACK OFF!! from our zim affairs, even if you have a clueless stooge you handle..