Dumisani Muleya
27 October 2009
Johannesburg — ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe yesterday met Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in a desperate bid to salvage the crumbling inclusive government to prevent a return to heightened political instability and precipitous economic decline.
The meeting, which went on until late last night, was seen as key to whether Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would return to government after pulling out last week.
However, after the meeting the rivals appeared to have drifted further apart.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said his party and Mugabe's Zanu (PF) were "worlds apart".
"If they -- Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) -- are facing west we are facing east," he said.
The crisis hit the fragile coalition earlier this month when the MDC said it would stop attending cabinet meetings in protest against the arrest of one of its senior officials and Mugabe's refusal to fully implement a political agreement.
During yesterday's three- hour meeting, Mugabe refused to give ground and said it was up to the MDC to break the deadlock by calling for an end to western sanctions that he blames for Zimbabwe's economic troubles, said Chamisa.
Zanu (PF) officials were not immediately available for comment.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai entered the unity government after disputed elections left the impoverished African state in a stalemate and in danger of serious violence.
Difficulties in implementing their agreement have delayed efforts to secure billions of dollars from western donors, money crucial to Zimbabwe's economic recovery.
Chamisa said the MDC would now wait for the outcome of mediation by the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), and if this failed to end the deadlock the party would start to prepare for elections.
"If that (mediation) fails, unfortunately we have to start to prepare for elections because there is no government without the global political agreement," Chamisa said.
"The elections must be managed by credible institutions."
Chamisa said ministers from a Sadc troika on politics, defence and security were expected to meet the MDC and Zanu (PF) separately in Harare on Thursday to assess the unity government. With Reuters
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
GUYS PLIZ DONT PLAY WITH ZIMBABWEANS MAY YOU PLIZ BE SERIOUS WITH YOUR WORK ,MUGABE IF TIRO YA BO PRESIDENT E A GO PALELA PLIS STEP DOWN KANA LEGALE O TSHABA GORE U GOING TO ROT IN PRISON,KANA GATWE MONNA O BOLAWA KE SE A SE JELENG PLIS RETIRE THERE IS KNOW WHERE TO RUN.
will the zimbabwean dollar return to the main stream market , well in my house it is used every week i have built a monopoly game with the money, the kids love it and it works out cheaper than buying the originall game, when a country goes from being the bread basket of Africa to a begging state then there is something wrong. I personaly would call on all the African leaders to step up and point out to the two top leaders in zimbabwe what they are doing, it is not them that are starving but zimbabweans the building blocks of a great nation, as for sanctions well its not zimbabwe that has sanctions against it but individules, how to get the sanctions removed is really straight forward follow the rule of law not your own law is law and it is there for a reason no one is above the law no one. I mpray every day for Zimbabwe the land where i was born and raised and sorely miss, let us pull together and pray. It is now up to the woman of this nation to stop the killing and caos,
is there any plan on bringing back the zim dollar into circulation.