Zimbabwe: Dispute Over Ministries Halts Talks
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
10 October 2008
Posted to the web 10 October 2008
Dumisani Muleya
Johannesburg
ZIMBABWE'S main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has suspended talks with President Robert Mugabe over the allocation of key ministries meant to pave the way for a new power-sharing government to tackle the country's problems.
The freezing of negotiations over the cabinet would heighten pressure on the Southern African Development Community (SADC ) and the African Union (AU) to dispatch former president Thabo Mbeki to Harare to try to break the deadlock while the economic crisis worsens.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation for July soared to new stratospheric levels -- 231000000% -- dramatising the economic collapse gripping the country.
Independent economists say the real inflation rate is more than 500000000%. One even put it in billions. The country's chronic shortages of foreign currency, food, basic goods and just about every other essential are rapidly worsening.
Mugabe's Zanu (PF) has blocked Mbeki from returning more than three weeks after the power-sharing agreement was signed on September 15 in Harare between the ruling party and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) factions led by Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara. Tsvangirai said yesterday Mugabe's party could not prevent Mbeki from coming, although Zanu (PF) negotiator Patrick Chinamasa has said that he was not needed yet.
Tsvangirai said his party had sounded out SADC and the AU on the deadlock.
"The global political agreement we have is guaranteed by SADC and the AU and therefore, in the event of a dispute or deadlock as we have now, the matter should be taken to SADC and AU," he said.
"We have communicated this position to SADC and the AU as well as the facilitator, and we have confidence they will do everything in their power to resolve the issue with speed."
It is said Mbeki has said he was ready to intervene at any time to break the impasse. President Kgalema Motlanthe has said Pretoria would support Mbeki's efforts. SADC has asked Motlanthe to back Mbeki's mediation.
SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao yesterday met Motlanthe to ask his government to give Mbeki resources to tackle the talks stalemate. Salomao recently spoke to Motlanthe about the mediation after Mugabe and Tsvangirai failed for weeks on ends to resolve the deadlock.
Tsvangirai said at his Strathaven home in Harare that the talks on the distribution of the 31 ministries between Mugabe, Mutambara and himself had broken down. Mugabe is entitled to 15 ministries, Tsvangirai 13 and Mutambara three.
The three leaders would also get eight deputy ministers between them.
Tsvangirai said talks would not resume until Mbeki stepped in.
"We have actively engaged our colleagues in Zanu (PF) with a view to ensuring that we have agreement on the outstanding issues. We have been engaging with our colleagues at both negotiators and principals level," Tsvangirai said.
"In particular, we have been deliberating on the allocation of ministries. There has been no progress made on this entire section as ministries can only be negotiated comprehensively and not individually.
"It is not true to say we are left with two ministries to negotiate as any agreement reached on those two particular ministries would have an effect on the allocation of the rest of the ministries. In this regard we have declared a deadlock and therefore the process cannot move forward except in the presence of the facilitator."
Insiders said Mbeki is now urgently needed because parties are having "a dispute about the dispute". "The problem is that they have now shifted from negotiating ministries to having a dispute about the dispute," a source said. "They are now arguing about what the dispute is in the first place."
Mugabe recently claimed there were four ministries -- foreign affairs, home affairs, local government and finance -- in dispute.
Earlier this week his spokesman, George Charamba, said it was now only home affairs and finance in dispute.
A senior official in the Mutambara camp said that "as far as we are concerned, there are four ministries in dispute".
Relevant Links
The parties are also arguing about sharing the posts of 10 provincial governors. Other potential hurdles are by-elections and the constitutional amendment to implement the agreement.
Read comments. Write your own.
my dear buddhamate, i think its in the best interests of zimbabwe at large if morgan is not given his passport until cabinet talks are concluded..As an empty vessel with no mind of its own, morgan should be prevented at all costs from globetroting outside zim,calling for sanctions, denegrating the nation, its leaders etc..You all know his sellout activities in cahoots with outsiders are well documented..so at this critical stage of talks Mr Mudede(registrar gen) i'm appealing to him to refuse categorically giving morgan his passport..
What do you think of a prime minister in waiting who doesn't have a passport? Is it possible that it's because he should be the President that Mugga wants to keep him under house arrest?At least Morgan stands for justice in Zimbabwe. What do you stand for and what are you really afraid of?
i said the registrar gen should deny morgan his passport until cabinet talks are concluded , they can give him back his passport after he's sworn in as PM. & after the all inclusive gvt is formed.. the reasons for that, i mentioned them earlier
Cde Mabhiza - you say "As an empty vessel with no mind of its own, morgan should be prevented at all costs from globetroting outside zim", do you have anything to substantiate this comment?
I mean, here is a man who has been beaten up and put in hospital because of his opposition to Mugabe. Yet he is still standing up for what he believes. Does that really sound like an empty vessel with no mind of his own? Here is a man who has led an opposition party to a position of sharing power with Mugabe despite the violent… [Read Full Text]
Mabhiza is just an idiot. He talks lies and never has anything to back up his comments. Just ignor him.
Mabhiza.. what are you scared of? Tsvangarai talking to people? He has a phone! What does it matter if he travels. ITs just pure childish antics on behalf of the ZANU PF. Playground politics. And why shouldnt Tsvangari campaign for sanctions against Mugabe who hasnt abided by the spirit of the GNU and allocated the key ministries ot his own parties. Mugabe is a joke. There are currently no sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe, and stop making up lies that there are. You need to wake up and see the real world.
Mabhiza, you know what?ZANU are letting the chance of living longer slipping from their hands.Guess what? that is always the work of devil.He gives you all you want in the begining and when the hour is approaching makes you so stubborn and stupid to losing your life and laughs at you in hell in the world hereafter.Trust me, these murderers will die like dogs.
Even dogs have honourable death at times!
Devil Mugabe and thugs will know the same fate like Mobutu! He was buried in foreign land since he had tarnished the soil of his motherland by shedding unneccessary blood of innocent Zims. Mugabe and thugs, like dictator Mobutu, will meet a similar fate for his evil actions. Zim dogs will, however, meet a better fate.
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Just a question here Morgan.Have those bludgers given you your passport yet?