SW Radio Africa (London)
Tichaona Sibanda
16 November 2009
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met in Harare with negotiators from ZANU PF and the MDC-T on Monday, to set the agenda for the make-or-break negotiations between the rival parties. James Maridadi, Tsvangirai's spokesman, confirmed the meeting.
The talks between the negotiators were due to begin in earnest this week, but have been postponed to next week due to the unavailability of negotiators from the MDC-M. Both their negotiators missed the Monday meeting with Tsvangirai.
The crucial talks will have to wait until the return of Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, who are both outside the country. Ncube is expected back in the country on the 23rd November while Mushonga will be back on Wednesday. It has been impossible to find out why two key negotiators are unavailable for meetings, which have direct and vital impacts on the lives and futures of all Zimbabweans.
MDC-T national spokesman Nelson Chamisa said their negotiators were ready but were only informed of Ncube and Mushonga's absence on Monday. The MDC-T is represented by Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma, while Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche represent ZANU PF.
Ten months into the inclusive government, Robert Mugabe is still refusing to share power and now negotiations will have to be guided by the SADC Troika communiqué which urged full compliance with the letter and spirit, not just of the GPA, but also with the decisions of the SADC Summit of January 27, 2009.
That communiqué refers specifically to the issues of provincial governors, the Attorney-General and the Governor of the Reserve Bank and issues around the National Security Council, which has met only once, four months ago, since the formation of the new government in February.
These issues, including the appointment of provincial governors and the swearing in of deputy minister of agriculture-designate Roy Bennett, are threatening the existence of the unity government.
Weekend reports said a SADC ministerial team, that assessed the implementation of the power-sharing arrangement, recommended that RBZ Governor Gideon Gono should be 'reassigned' to save the coalition government from collapse.
On Sunday Chamisa told The Star newspaper of South Africa that the parties had no option but to fully implement what they agreed to when the GPA was signed.
'This is a straightforward case which does not need days to complete because everything was agreed by the parties. We therefore expect full implementation of the GPA. All the chapters, commas, full stops, clauses, punctuation marks, signatures and paragraphs must be respected and must be complied with. The political parties must agree on implementation so that we do not embarrass SADC, who are guarantors to the deal,' Chamisa told the paper.
Last week, Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara met in Harare and reportedly agreed to reforms pertaining to the media, electoral and human rights.
Media reports in South Africa over the weekend said Mugabe will soon announce the various commissioners for the Zimbabwe Media Commission, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
But observers remain highly skeptical of such reports, as Mugabe is a master at delaying tactics and has shown that he has absolutely no intention of allowing a free media, a free electoral commission or a genuine respect for human rights.
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again more nonsense from the clearly duluded and out of his depth takunya. Does he still think the CIA invented homosexuality? What the!?
In what capacity does the sellout Tsvangi meet negotiators when he is an interested person? What agenda is he setting when everything was agreed at the SADC Troika Summit meeting in Maputo on 05 Nov'09? To make matters worse he does this when the President is out on official business and when MDC is not represented at all as both negotiators are out of the country on official business.
What needs to be done and what the western stooge should be doing is to call for the lifting of sanctions that he campaigned for. If he really is for the full implementation of the GPA then he should:-
1. Tell his masters that the sanctions that he asked for are not only hurting the people of Zimbabwe that he is Prime Minister of and purportedly leading but actually killing them.
2. The Pirate radio stations operating from countries like Botswana should be closed and officials of his sellout party should, in the short to medium term, stop according interviews to these poisonous stations as anything they say has the potential to polarize the nation. In the long run the imperialist funded stations should be dismantled completely so that Zimbabwe is free from propaganda and falsehoods.
3. Without delay the CIA and MI6 puppet must dismantle the parallel structures operating from his office and that are using state property and resources to further the interests of imperialists.
The above issues, dear Nelson, are "the chapters, commas, full stops, clauses, punctuation marks, signatures and paragraphs" that must be respected and complied with. Anything else, Gutu boy, is peripheral to these too important GPA outstanding issues.
The ball is in MDC-T's court!!