Harare — CABINET is understood to have recently made an undertaking to give Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and other former opposition partners in the government of national unity (GNU) official slots during all national events such as Independence Day celebrations, National Heroes Day and State funerals to signify the inclusivity of the unity government. The decision to grant the premier slots at all State functions came against the backcloth of bitterness from both formations of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that the premier along with his deputy, Arthur Mutambara, were being made to appear as junior partners to President Robert Mugabe and his former ruling party, ZANU-PF.

Also clouding issues in the shaky coalition, whose three principals this week separately travelled to the Southern African Develo-pment Community (SADC) summit in Windhoek, Namibia, are allegations that some senior civil servants with links to ZANU-PF are deliberately defying directives or instructions from the Prime Minister and his deputies, including MDC ministers.

It is said that the ZANU-PF ministers are ignoring instructions from the MDC side of the inclusive government on the grounds that the former trade unionist and Mutambara are not their principals.

For example, Cabinet last month resolved that ZANU-PF jingles heaping praises on President Mugabe while belittling the Prime Minister and his MDC-T party be stopped immediately from being played on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC)'s radio and television stations as there were deemed to be against the spirit of inclusivity.

Instead of the jingles being taken off air as per Cabinet directive, the gatekeepers at ZBC have, in fact, increased their frequency.

Hardliners in ZANU-PF last week also scuttled a decision to have the premier lead proceedings at the official start of the sale of the country's diamonds mined from the controversial Marange diamond fields in another clear example of the sidelining of the Prime Minister in the GNU.

Vice President, John Nkomo, the ZANU-PF second secretary, had to be flown in from Ntabazinduna in Matabeleland South, where he was attending the burial of Ndebele paramount chief, Khayisa Ndi-weni, to replace Tsvangirai in the first sale of the diamonds.

Analysts said the seemingly sidelining of PM Tsvangirai gave credence to assertions that the two MDC formations were junior partners in the GNU sponsored by SADC and the African Union (AU).

Critics note that SADC, the guarantors of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) together with the AU, coaxed and cajoled PM Tsvangirai and his political grouping to join the coalition government in order to stem an explosive fallout between the MDC-T and ZANU-PF following the inconclusive presidential polls in 2008.

The sidelining of Tsvangirai, according to the same critics, is a deliberate ploy intended at derailing the whole inclusive government while ZANU-PF slowly but surely re-organised itself ahead of any future elections in which it hopes to relegate Tsvangirai to his former position of opposition leader.

"The sidelining is well- calculated as certain people in government, who have all along been used to working and taking instructions from ZANU-PF, are working overtime to undermine the other partners in the coalition," said Jonah Gokova, the chairperson of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition.

"Prime Minister Tsvan-girai and other MDC members in government should now flex their muscles to show that there is a limit to this unacceptable behaviour, which borders on the violation of the GPA.

"If the MDCs keep quiet, insubordination and the junior partner tag attached to the premier would continue to grow," he added.

Gokova said ZANU-PF had a responsibility, as a key player in the GNU, to ensure that its signature in the power-sharing truce was respected by affording the premier his desired standing and respect.

Since the consummation of the GNU, President Mugabe has chaired all Cabinet meetings. In his absence, the usually Tuesday meetings are shelved and only held when he is available, a move analysts say is intended to reflect the Prime Minister's inferiority.

If Tsvangirai was allowed to chair Cabinet, analyst say the MDC-T leader would be magnified as equally powerful and important to President Mugabe.

Thomas Deve, an independent analyst, said within the GPA PM Tsvangirai remained a junior partner from an opposition formation and therefore not fit to be "one of them," hence the constant reference to him as Mr and not Comrade.

"So where he is assigned responsibility, it is designed and meant to embarrass him and not to acknowledge him as a political leader in his own right," he added.

Deve said the message from hardliners in ZANU-PF and securocrats to the two MDC formations in the GNU was that "if President Mugabe is not there, Morgan Tsvangirai is not his substitute.

"It is a sign of intolerance and clearly confirms the tension in the GNU."

Bob Muchabaiwa, the advocacy manager of the Botswana-based SADC Council of Non Governm-ental Organisations, said Tsvangirai's dilemma refle-cted the thinking and the attitude of the residual elements in the government, including civil servants.

Muchabaiwa said ZANU-PF hardliners, including President Mugabe, believed they have a divine right to direct national events because of their credentials, together with the former PF ZAPU, in liberating Zimb-abwe.

"But ZANU-PF must be alive to the new reality -- the new reality is the GNU. The parties in the coalition should at least give a semblance of working together.

Both ZANU-PF and the MDC formations have a primary responsibility to communicate unity otherwise the whole country will be thrown into chaos," he said.