Business Day (Johannesburg)

Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai Lifts Unity Boycott After SADC Talks

Dumisani Muleya

6 November 2009


Maputo — Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last night ended its boycott of the new unity government but will give President Robert Mugabe a month to fully implement a power- sharing deal, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said.

"We have suspended our disengagement from the GPA (Global Political Agreement) with immediate effect and we will give President Robert Mugabe 30 days to implement the agreement on the pertinent issues we are concerned about," Tsvangirai said after a regional summit in Mozambique.

His climbdown follows Southern African Development Community (Sadc) leaders urging rival parties within the inclusive government to urgently resume working together, possibly by next week, to salvage the shaky coalition arrangement which had stemmed the country's disastrous 10-year cumulative decline.

Tsvangirai and his MDC began their boycott last month in protest against Mugabe's refusal to fully implement the GPA which led to the formation of the coalition arrangement in February.

The Sadc troika, chaired by Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, was last night still locked in critical meetings with Zimbabwe's political leaders and South African President Jacob Zuma in a bid to finalise a solution.

Guebuza said Zimbabwe's parties could not allow the inclusive government to collapse for the good of the country and the region.

"In relation to the issue of Zimbabwe, we want this troika meeting to reach an agreement on the promises made by the parties in order to iron out the present challenges and to prioritise issues of national interest," Guebuza said.

"Along this line, all has to be done to maintain political stability in order for the continued influx of foreign investment which will help in the re- launch of the country's economic activities. We also appeal to the parties to capitalise on the meeting in order to have a lasting solution which will be good for Zimbabwe and the whole region."

Regional leaders are anxious to prevent the dispute in the inclusive government from deteriorating into a full-blown crisis which could collapse the Harare coalition, renewing political instability within the country and the region.

Diplomatic sources said Sadc leaders would in their communique urge the GPA parties to fully implement their agreement.

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They would also recommend that negotiators of the parties should engage each other on the outstanding issues and make recommendations to their principals within 30 days.

Sources said Sadc leaders also wanted the facilitator -- former South African president Thabo Mbeki -- to continue dealing with the matter to ensure implementation of the GPA.

The meetings started late with the troika leaders calling in Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara for a briefing and the adoption of the agenda for the summit.

The agenda included Madagascar, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

After that, Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara went out and the troika leaders, supported by Zuma, discussed the situation before calling the three back for further talks.

The second session took long as leaders haggled over issues. With Reuters

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Author: upliftdarace_144
Fri Nov 6 12:58:27 2009

This post was deleted because it contravenes AllAfrica's commenting guidelines.

Author: africa35
Sat Nov 7 04:52:10 2009

upliftda_race or whoever you are well we know who you are enough with your foolish mumblings we know who Mugabe and the Zanu-Pf are and how they have destroyed Zimbabwe. You as well as them are good at spreading your propaganda. Stop about God's blessings b/c God does not bless thieves and killers...

Author: mabhiza
Sat Nov 7 11:23:55 2009

Euro35/Americ35. Shame on you!! You have no conscience just like your ruinous stooge morgen van tsvangsen. Your Western regimes who make noise about Zimbabwe's democracy, recently endorsed a despicable,fraudulent re-election of Afghanistan's Karzai because he's your willing stooge. We have said it before that the only thing your western imperialist regimes care about are their white racist interests,not democracy,human rights etc and they will create despotic puppets like the tsvangrais ,the Khazai's to protect those sinister racist capitalist interests.Americ35, the afghan fiasco has battered your already soiled credibility even more therefore stop your nonsense about democracy,human rights etc.

Another tsvangson climb down once more!!!Looks like a face saving gesture from the stooge-tsvangi.So what is he going to do after 30 days?Because our resolute Zanu pf will NEVER yield to any of his nonsensical demands.I bet he will be waiting for directions for his next move from his Western and Rhodesian handlers.Our revolutionary President R.G.Mugabe who is Head of state and gvt said that MDC-T will be back in gvt soon and that's exactly what happened.Zanu pf has fullfilled it's part of the GPA. Gono and Tomana were appointed legally and constitutionally and that's over and done with.The United States are the ones pushing for the removal of Gono because spearheaded the agricultural mechanisation programme and he prevented the collapse of the economy under economic sanctions & Western economic warfare against Zimbabwe .SADC should be applauded for refusing to be manipulated by the MDC-T and its Western controllers.Article 6 of the Troika Communique called for the immediate lifting of all forms of sanctions that tsvangirai invited to Zimbabwe.This means that Sadc reiterated that economic sanctions are the most serious outstanding issue in the GPA.

Many people now know that the Western sponsored MDC-T has its own GPA obligations it's refusing to honour like calling for an immidiate end to illegal economic sanctions and pirate radio stations therefore western propaganda strategy of pilling all the blame on our revolutionary Zanu pf no longer works..Morgen van tsvangsen, a coward who ran away from a liberation war camp, is the most disastrous thing to ever happen to Zimbabwe.Tsvangirai a dictator who split the mdc into 2 factions single handedly due to his despotic tendencies.,he also created a brutal militia called the "democratic resistance committe" that terrorised,robbed, torchered and murdered people in Highfields,Glen Norah, Budiriro ,Mufakose and other surburbs in Harare bettween 2007 and 2008.That militia, alongside selous scouts remanants also unleashed an orgy of violence in the run up to the June 27 runnoff election last year.

A false tsvangson image (of human rights, democracy) crafted by years of western propaganda thsi time around has been battered beyond repair.His illadvised 'disengagement' has exposed him in Africa as a sellout who is fighting for the interests of Rhodesians,white farmers and Westerners, a confused sellout who routinely shifts goalposts contradicts himself on a regular basis, a western puppet who is used by western imperialists to destabilise the political and economic situation of his own country.A selfish,insensitive puppet who's willng to sacrifice 13 million black people's lives for the sake of a Rhodesian selous scout- Roy Bennet.,who fought hard to prevent the black majority rule,democracy and independence of Zimbabwe.

Author: africa35
Wed Nov 11 20:56:02 2009

there is no democracy in Zimbabwe it is run by Mugabe and the Zanu-Pf so if you have trouble understanding democracy just b/c the zanu-pf agree on it that does not make it a democracy but it is up too all of the people in Zimbabwe.

Author: Omugabe
Fri Nov 6 15:16:27 2009

Considering that the Zimbabwean 'ship of state' was bent on sailing without those treasonous traitors of the MDC (Mentally Deluded by Colonialists, the rudderless ones are quickly hopping aboard.

After all, the self-hating traitors can't heed the devils of europe and do 'regime change' from the outside. lol

The european mental enslavers wanted to have the criminal colonialist, bennett, as the conduit and manager for the '30 pieces of european silver'.

However, Zim Patriots will have none of it. That bastard belongs in confinement, if not to be permanently 'put out of business'.

Author: takunya_ndebvu
Fri Nov 6 17:24:55 2009

I am extremely surprised that even after 9 months in government this slow learner does not seem to want to learn. He must, by now, know that the people of Zimbabwe in general and Zanu-pf in particular do not operation on the basis of threats or deadlines.

Zanu-pf is a revolutionary party that was born out of the struggle to free our land from invaders. Zanu-pf is, thus, immune to threats or deadlines - they will come and pass. The sellout party and its leader can re-suspend their suspension of disengagement, even before the lapse of 30 days, nothing will change.

The issues that MDC say are outstanding are not GPA issues. Nowhere in the GPA will one find the name Gono or Tomana or lately Charamba so how can these gentlemen suddenly become GPA issues? Ooh ok I see now; the CIA and MI6 do not want the two gentlemen because they defeated the regime change agenda. Now Zimbabwe is determined to have Gono and Tomana until their terms of office expire since they were appointment in accordance with the laws of Zimbabwe.

Author: zola zazu zambezi zulu
Fri Nov 6 19:46:41 2009

This post was deleted because it contravenes AllAfrica's commenting guidelines.

Author: kjrs120
Sun Nov 8 07:06:15 2009

takunya, your couuntry's power shortages have left your brain on permanent dim switch mode. As the SADC troika have made it perfectly clear that the communique is part of the GPA, presently to whom do you think the mentioned "Reserve Bank governor," the "Attorney General" and "Provincial Governors" are in reference to?

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