Financial Gazette (Harare)
Njabulo Ncube
20 November 2009
Harare — Fresh negotiations to deal with the so-called outstanding issues in the unity government are expected to begin in earnest this weekend nearly two weeks after the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Troika directed at its meeting in Mozambique that Zimbabwe resolves its niggling issues within 30 days.
President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara held preliminary talks on Friday last week at which, the three principals agreed that the premier should engage the chief negotiators on the programme of action.
The meeting between Prime Minister Tsvangirai and the chief negotiators to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) from ZANU-PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations was however, aborted on Monday because some of the negotiators were away on government business. In attendance at Monday's brief meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tsvangirai were MDC-T's chief negotiator Tendai Biti, ZANU-PF's chief negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche while DPM Mutambara stood in for his point-persons, secretary general Welshman Ncube and deputy secretary-general Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.
The MDC is unhappy with delays in appointing provincial governors and other senior government appointments made by President Mugabe.
ZANU-PF, on the hand, wants the MDC to lift sanctions, stop running a parallel government and disband pirate radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe.
"We expect those that were out of the country to be back by weekend," said Gorden Moyo, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office.
"The negotiators were due to meet on Monday, but some of them were out of the country. However, we have an assurance that they will all be back at least by weekend, meaning the negotiations could start from Friday and eat into the weekend," said Moyo.
"If there are problems, the facilitator will have to come in after being given a full report of the negotiations as directed by the last SADC troika in Maputo."
South Africa President Jacob Zuma, the new facilitator of the GPA, is expected within a week to visit Harare to assess the progress of the negotiations.
Diplomatic sources alleged there was immense regional pressure on all the three principals to ensure that the SADC troika resolution be fully complied with within the set deadline.
There is a general consensus ZANU-PF might not cede serious concessions to the MDC until after its congress set for the second week of next month.
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