Published by the government of Zimbabwe
22 October 2009
Harare — THE three parties to the Global Political Agreement have agreed to "holistically" look at divisive issues affecting the inclusive Government and a meeting of the three principals might take place soon, a senior Government official has said.
In his address at the launch of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Manufacturing Sector Survey, Industry and Commerce Minister and MDC secretary-general Professor Welshman Ncube said there had been efforts at rapprochement over the past two days.
The news of a possible breakthrough following MDC-T's decision to "disengage" from the inclusive Government came as South African President Jacob Zuma poured cold water on calls from some quarters to send a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe and impose an arms embargo on the country.
Reports from South Africa said President Zuma was responding to a question in Parliament by Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Mr Athol Trollip on MDC-T's "partial pullout" over the indictment for trial on terror-related charges of party treasurer Roy Bennett.
The South African government yesterday also issued a statement denying that President Zuma would meet Mr Tsvangirai as claimed by MDC-T.
"There is no such thing. Some of these statements made by politicians are made to draw the attention of the public.
"President Zuma has a tight schedule for this week, and it does not accommodate the MDC president, Mr Tsvangirai," said President Zuma's spokesperson, Mr Zizi Kodwa.
The MDC-T leader had unsuccessfully sought a meeting with President Zuma in Cape Town yesterday. But MDC-T functionaries in South Africa insisted that a meeting between the two was scheduled for today.
Yesterday, Prof Ncube revealed: "I am happy to say that in the last 48 hours, the leadership of the three political parties have resolved that they need to holistically look at the issues that have led to the current situation.
"We hope that in the next two to three days there will be a meeting of the three leaders to discuss those issues."
Prof Ncube said it was imperative for politicians to behave responsibly because their actions had already fuelled scepticism among investors that the GPA would hold.
"The principals need to talk to each other and agree on things that they agree on and disagree on things that they disagree on.
"But more importantly, they need to find a way of living with what they disagree on and continue to talk about those things," he said.
In South Africa, President Zuma told Mr Trollip that issues to do with Zimbabwe had been dealt with comprehensively at the Sadc Summit in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month.
That summit resolved that the GPA was being adequately implemented and also repeated the bloc's call for illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe to be lifted.
President Zuma said South Africa was willing to work with Sadc to assist the inclusive Government to resolve any outstanding issues pertaining to the implementation of the GPA.
Mr Tsvangirai is touring the region to drum up support for their decision to "disengage" from the inclusive Government. Internet news reports said he was yesterday also seeking a meeting with DRC leader and Sadc chairman President Joseph Kabila.
Mr Tsvangirai is flying around the region in a hired South African-registered private jet with close advisors Mr Ian Makone and Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro.
The meeting with President Kabila -- whose occurrence could not be verified last night -- follows a similar one with Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, who is the chair of the Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, on Tuesday.
Details of that meeting were not available at the time of writing.
Mr Tsvangirai is also set to travel to Angola where he hopes to meet President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Indications yesterday were that he had cancelled a meeting with ally Botswana's President Seretse Khama Ian Khama.
Government has said MDC-T's "partial pullout" will not stop the operations of the Executive because Cabinet does not make decisions through a vote or by the constitution of a quorum.
On Tuesday, Cabinet met without MDC-T ministers for the second time since the formation of the inclusive Government in February.
According to Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu, Cabinet business proceeded well and all matters on the agenda were exhausted.
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