A rather subdued Robert Mugabe finally opened the Second Session of the Seventh Parliament on Tuesday, where Morgan Tsvangirai was also present at the official opening for the first time as Prime Minister.
Several parliamentarians also said that for the first time there were no tensions in the House while Mugabe was delivering his speech which was 'relatively devoid of his usual nastiness.'
Observers say it appears the political rivals may have made some concessions to be 'civil with each other'. Last August Mugabe was humiliated and left rattled after MDC-T parliamentarians jeered, heckled and sang 'ZANU PF is rotten' during his speech, but there was none of that this time around. Some MDC MPs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were told by the top leadership in the inclusive government not to repeat last year's performance.
One of the MPs said the instructions came via the party's chief whip in parliament, Innocent Gonese, who allegedly told the MPs there would be no heckling. One disappointed MP said: "It was one of those sad and boring days in parliament where you just sat there and listened to an old, sickly man delivering another useless message to the nation."
However Gonese denied ordering the legislators not to boo Mugabe. But he pointed out: "There was a general discussion that this time things had to be done a bit differently and we obviously discussed with members that we did not expect there to be the heckling or the singing that characterised last year's opening. But generally the MPs I spoke to were appreciative of the need to have that different approach."
The MDC chief whip told SW Radio Africa that this was because things were very different last year, as it was before the inception of the inclusive government and decisions were being made unilaterally by ZANU PF. He said this time around the Prime Minister was in chambers, as compared to the last time when he was not even sworn in as an MP. Gonese said the environment was completely different and relatively jovial Tuesday.
Meanwhile in his opening speech, Mugabe told the House that Zimbabwe is ready for new and friendly relations with the West. He said: "Our country remains in a positive stance to enter into fresh, friendly and cooperative relations with all those countries that have been hostile to us in the past." Just two weeks ago Mugabe accused western countries of trying to divide the coalition government. Of course he didn't lose the opportunity to also point out that the lifting of the targeted sanctions was essential for this to become a reality.
Mugabe said the inclusive government would consult people on the issue of creating a new constitution, although he revealed that the political parties' negotiators will be part of a management committee to head the constitution making process. There are fears that this management committee will remove the authority of the Parliamentary Select Committee, which is supposed run the affairs of the constitution making process. If this happened it would put the constitutional process directly under the control of the political parties.
The negotiators on the management committee are the same people who came up with the controversial Kariba Draft constitution, which has been rejected by the MDC-T itself and civil society, because it is not people driven.
However Gonese insisted that while the political parties have now more direct involvement, it does not mean they are taking over control of the process. He said the three co-chairpersons of the Parliamentary Select Committee will also be part of the new management structure.
The chief whip said the Principals decided to create the management committee, to speed up the constitution making process which has been hit by severe delays. "There have been some challenges on the funding and there have been some misunderstandings between some of the key players. But we are now hoping that that this (management structure) will smooth things in such a way that the work of the committee will now proceed without hindrance and hope that now there will be less room for misunderstandings and hopefully that this process will be concluded sooner rather than later," said Gonese.
The Parliamentary Select Committee is co-chaired by Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T), Paul Mangwana (ZANU PF) and Edward Mkosi (MDC-M) - Mkosi is sometimes represented by David Coltart (MDC-M).
The negotiators are: Patrick Chinamasa & Nicholas Goche (ZANU PF); Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga & Welshman Ncube (MDC-M) and Tendai Biti & Elton Mangoma (MDC-T).
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At a time when almost all information coming out of Zimbabwe either grieves me or bewilders me, I take comfort in the fact that targeted sanctions against Mugabe et al are obviously a major thorn in his side. These guys 'so badly' want to be able to spend their stolen loot in the west. Grace Mugabe simply "must" get to Harrods! It must be even more galling for them now that they have diamond fields to pillage! Subdued Mugabe? About time!
Do you remember, [OBrien] went on, writing in your diary, Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four?
Yes, said Winston.
OBrien held up his left hand, its back toward Winston, with the thumb hidden and the four fingers extended.
How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?
Four.
And if the Party says that it is not four but five then how many?
Four.
The word ended in a gasp of pain. The needle of the dial had shot up to fifty-five. The sweat had sprung out all over Winstons body. The air tore into his lungs and issued again in deep groans which even by clenching his teeth he could not stop. OBrien watched him, the four fingers still extended. He drew back the lever. This time the pain was only slightly eased.
How many fingers, Winston?
Four.
The needle went up to sixty.
How many fingers, Winston?
Four! Four! What else can I say? Four!
The needle must have risen again, but he did not look at it. The heavy, stern face and the four fingers filled his vision. The fingers stood up before his eyes like pillars, enormous, blurry, and seeming to vibrate, but unmistakably four.
How many fingers, Winston?
Four! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on? Four! Four!
How many fingers, Winston?
Five! Five! Five!
No, Winston, that is no use. You are lying. You still think there are four. How many fingers, please?
Four! Five! Four! Anything you like. Only stop it, stop the pain!
Abruptly he was sitting up with OBriens arm round his shoulders. He had perhaps lost consciousness for a few seconds. The bonds that had held his body down were loosened. He felt very cold, he was shaking uncontrollably, his teeth were chattering, the tears were rolling down his cheeks. For a moment he clung to OBrien like a baby, curiously comforted by the heavy arm round his shoulders. He had the feeling that OBrien was his protector, that the pain was something that came from outside, from some other source, and that it was OBrien who would save him from it.
You are a slow learner, Winston, said OBrien gently.
How can I help it? he blubbered. How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.
Sometimes, Winston, sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.
- George Orwell, 1984
Thank you Ragtimer..........
When reality is worse than literature, it bodes ill for all. The four fingers (or actually one finger) that Mugabe and his ZANU-Poof bootlickers show to the world, that they are in an alternate reality - where 4 fingers (or one) equal five.
Where their minions on the web shout - don't look at how bad we are, look at how bad other people all over the rest of the world are. It obscures from the fact of how horribly criminal their actions have been towards their own people - it doesn't hurt us in the real world if ZANU-PF wants to beat and torture it's opposition into submission, but it DOES hurt the people of Zimbabwe - who continue to pay the piper, yet allow the piper to call his own tune........
No, actually, the evil/satanic/racist West is paying the piper (to keep feeding the people of Zimbabwe), yet the "piper" continues to call the tune.
Like the Wizard of Oz "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"........
Zimbabwe will soon learn the Emperor has no Clothes......... For those of you who continue to defend the indefensible actions of Bloodstained Bob and his ZANU-Poof bootlickers, winds of change are coming, just like the weather, nothing you or even Comrade Bob can do about it - he ain't gonna live forever........ What does ZANU-Poof do when he croaks?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot...........
"Total Empowerment!" - We don't hear much about THAT tripe these days, do we?
President Mugabe a hard man to beat
If he could have failed to win re-election on June 27 he would be dead by then but he is great man to notice
he is blamed by many Zimbabweans and everyone around the world for parlous state of the economy in Zimbabwe
right now he is still active and voicing everywhere in the country as he denounced the character of the MDCs but time shall come for him to downtrodden