http://www.hararetribune.com
Tuesday, 20 January 2009 04:12
Trymore Magomana
Following the talks held yesterday, SADC came up with a
position paper on
how to break the deadlock between the MDC and ZANU-PF.
This position paper
is appended below.
The most striking aspect of this
document is that the SADC leaders are
trying to short circuit the GNU deal
by having Tsvangirai sworn in, before
the all inclusive government has been
formed. SADC says in the paper that
Tsvangirai should be sworn in by January
24.
------
Full text of Sadc's position paper on breaking the
inclusive Government
deadlock:
AGREEMENT AMONG THE ZIMBABWE POLITICAL
LEADERS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
"AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ZIMBABWE AFRICAN
NATIONAL UNION-PATRIOTIC FRONT AND
THE TWO MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
FORMATIONS, ON RESOLVING THE
CHALLENGES FACING ZIMBABWE" (HEREINAFTER
REFERRED TO AS "THE AGREEMENT")
After consultations held in Harare,
Zimbabwe, on 19 January 2009, the
Principals hereby agree to the
following:
1. Proceed immediately with the formation of the Inclusive
Government as
prescribed in the Agreement
2. To support the adoption
of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment 19 at
the sitting of Parliament on
Tuesday 20 January 2009
3. To swear-in the Prime Minister and Deputy
Prime Ministers by 24 January
2009 and thereafter proceed to appoint
ministers
4. The MDC-T shall submit a draft Bill on the National Security
Council for
consideration by the Parties by 24 January 2009
5. At the
end of the contract of the incumbent Governors or should vacancies
arise,
the posts will be shared amongst the Parties, according to agreed
formula
6. The allocation of ministerial portfolios shall be reviewed
six (6) months
after the inauguration of the Cabinet as per the decision of
the Sadc
Extraordinary Summit held in Sandton, South Africa, on 9 November
2008.
7. Outstanding issues raised by MDC-T shall be dealt
with:
a. In terms of Article XXII, Paragraph 22.4 of the Agreement, which
states:
"Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) shall be
the
principal body dealing with the issues of compliance and monitoring of
this
Agreement and to that end, the Parties hereby undertake to channel all
complaints, grievances, concerns and issues relating to the compliance with
this Agreement through JOMIC and to refrain from any conduct which might
undermine the spirit of co-operation necessary for the fulfilment of this
Agreement"; and/or
b. By the Inclusive Government after its
formation.
http://www.businessday.co.za
20 January 2009
Dumisani
Muleya
Harare Correspondent
ZIMBABWE's power-sharing talks
brokered by regional leaders hung in the
balance last night amid fears of a
collapse as President Robert Mugabe and
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
failed to agree on details for a unity
government.
Mugabe
rejected Tsvangirai's conditions for joining his government, saying
his
demands were "unacceptable".
Tsvangirai presented a position paper by
his Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) demanding control of the "key" home
affairs, finance, information,
agriculture and local government
ministries.
He proposed that Mugabe take defence, national security,
justice, foreign
affairs and land .
Sources said Mugabe rejected
Tsvangirai's proposals , insisting the issue
had been resolved and there was
no need to "reopen" it.
"Tsvangirai put forward his party's position,
but Mugabe simply said it was
unacceptable," said one negotiator at the
inter-party talks. "That left the
meeting frozen, and efforts by regional
leaders to push the two to make
compromises failed. It looks like the talks
are on the verge of collapse."
Mugabe suggested previously that all
the contested ministries, except
finance, go to his party, Zanu
(PF).
Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders had suggested
that
home affairs be co-managed by Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
Before
yesterday's meeting - attended by President Kgalema Motlanthe, who is
also
the SADC chairman, mediator Thabo Mbeki and Mozambican President
Armando
Guebuza - Mugabe and Tsvangirai had hardened their positions,
signalling
that the talks could finally break down.
Mugabe had described the
meeting as "make or break", and warned he would not
make concessions, while
Tsvangirai had insisted on the MDC demands being
met.
Sources
said Motlanthe, Mbeki and Guebuza pushed hard for a compromise,
reminding
Mugabe and Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe's deepening political and
economic crisis
and its collateral damage on the region, but failed to move
the bitter
rivals.
It is understood that Mugabe insisted that he had complied
with SADC
recommendations to put measures in place to form an inclusive
government,
but Tsvangirai had disagreed.
Mugabe said at the meeting
that he had accepted the sharing of home affairs,
gazetted the draft
constitutional amendment bill, which was due before
parliament today, and
had always been ready to swear Tsvangirai in to office
pending the
constitutional amendment to legalise his appointment as prime
minister.
This, Mugabe said, had all been blocked by the refusal of
the MDC to
co-operate.
Although Motlanthe, Mbeki and Guebuza were
forced to stick to the SADC
position, supported by smaller MDC faction
leader Arthur Mutambara, they
still demanded a compromise solution, which
could not be found as Mugabe and
Tsvangirai remained poles apart.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
A last-ditch effort to
save Zimbabwe's power-sharing agreement collapsed on
Monday night, after
President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai failed to
reach an agreement.
Last Updated: 11:09PM GMT 19 Jan 2009
Mr
Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), joined Mr Mugabe at a highly-charged meeting in the capital
Harare.
The rivals signed a deal to create a coalition government last
September.
This agreement would have led to Mr Tsvangirai becoming prime
minister, with
Mr Mugabe staying on as president, and the MDC's two factions
taking 16
cabinet posts. But the proposed coalition has never been
implemented. Both
Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe insisted that one of their
allies become home
affairs minister, a powerful post which controls the
police.
On this stumbling block, the whole agreement was deadlocked.
Talks broke
down and Mr Tsvangirai has spent the past two months in
self-imposed exile
in the neighbouring country of Botswana. The meeting on
Monday was an
attempt to break the deadlock.
Mr Mugabe, who turns 85
next month and has recently begun a new campaign of
repression against the
MDC, said these talks were the moment when Mr
Tsvangirai would have to join
a coalition or walk away from the deal.
"Either they [the MDC] accept, or
it's a break," said Mr Mugabe.
To increase the pressure for an agreement,
President Kgalema Motlanthe of
South Africa arrived in Harare, along with
President Armando Guebuza of
Mozambique and Thabo Mbeki, the official
mediator.
They represent the Southern African Development Community
(SADC), a regional
organisation of 16 countries which is trying to broker
the deal.
But after 12 hours of negotiations, the two men failed to reach
an
agreement. A source close to the talks said that Mr Mugabe had "made a
compromise", but it appeared that it had been rejected by the
MDC.
Regional leaders will discuss the crisis next week in South Africa
or
Botswana at a summit which both Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe have agreed
to
attend, a SADC official said. But Mr Mugabe later said he would continue
power-sharing talks with his rival in Zimbabwe ahead of the regional summit,
adding that the talks had broken down after Mr Tsvangirai's MDC presented
its own proposals, which differed from the SADC recommendations.
The
opposition leader said that little progress had been made. "For us as
the
MDC this is probably the darkest day of our lives. I am sure the whole
nation is waiting anxiously for the resolution of this crisis. We are
committed to this deal but subject to (ruling party) ZANU-PF conceding on
these issues," Mr Tsvangirai said.
A possible formula to break the
deadlock over the home affairs ministry
would have an ally of Mr Mugabe
holding the post, with an MDC figure serving
as his deputy.
Mr
Tsvangirai is under intense pressure to agree a compromise formula. His
relations with Mr Mbeki, the chief mediator, are dogged by mistrust and
suspicion. Many in Mr Tsvangirai's own party doubt his ability to withstand
the pressure.
Arthur Mutambara, the leader of the rival faction of
the MDC, said rescuing
the power-sharing deal was crucial to reviving the
nation's economy. "Now is
the time to find common ground among Zimbabweans,
the time for flexibility,
compromise and pragmatism," he said.
http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=277&cat=8
Tuesday,
January 20, 2009
HR-New Ziana.
MOST
banks in Harare are limiting cash that can be withdrawn by workers in
sharp
contrast to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's announcement that all
workers
could access their full salaries as from Monday last week.
Some workers
who went to their respective banks to withdraw their salaries
were left a
frustrated lot after they were informed that they could only
withdraw part
of their salaries.
In most instances, banks were allowing their clients
to withdraw at least
$10 trillion while those that were running such as CBZ,
CABS and Beverly had
reduced the withdrawals to less than $10 trillion
dollars.
Bank officials said cash shortages were being caused by the
increase in
demand for cash as civil servants, chief among them soldiers and
teachers,
had started getting their January salaries.- HR-New Ziana.
http://www.businessday.co.za/
20
January 2009
HARARE - The Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) wants the economy
to be completely
dollarised to improve the operation of industry, the
state-controlled Herald
reported yesterday.
ZNCC president Obert Sibanda told the newspaper the
immediate measure
required to resuscitate the industry was to grant all
companies licences to
trade in foreign currency.
"We have to accept
the economy has been dollarised and all companies should
be registered to
trade in hard currency," Sibanda said. "The country should
adopt holistic
approaches for industry to prosper, he said.
"The revitalisation of the
economy in 2009 rests on concrete solutions that
must be created by all
stakeholders," he was quoted as saying. "We no longer
need piecemeal
solutions."
Sibanda said industries had been operating below capacity and
faced
shortages of raw material and foreign currency.
The Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe last year partially dollarised the economy,
granting more
than 1000 firms licences to trade in foreign currency. The
economy has,
however, illegally fully dollarised with almost all sectors now
charging in
foreign currency.
"Stakeholders need to engage and stop the blame game if
2009 is to be a
better year for business," Sibanda said. Sapa
Press Release
You are
cordially invited to the launch of the Save Zimbabwe Now solidarity
movement. Date: 21 January
2009 Place: Central Methodist Mission, Cnr
Pritchard and Small Street, Johannesburg. Secure parking is available on the Cnr
of Von Weiligh and Jeppe Street. Time: 11 am Speakers: Graća Machel – Member of The Elders
and wife of Nelson Mandela
Kumi Naidoo – Honorary president of CIVICUS Nomboniso
Gasa –
Chair of the South African Gender Commission Bishop Paul
Verryn
of the Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg Louisa Zonda - Consultant and former
CEO of the Human Rights Commission Pastor Mugabe – Board member of the
Zimbabwean National Pastors Conference and member of the Christian Alliance.
Makoma Lekalakala – Steering committee
member of Ceasefire and member of several women’s and community based
organisations. Sipho Theys- Zimbabwe Solidarity
Forum The launch of the
movement aims galvanise the solidarity and support of the people and organisations in Southern Africa, and to
provide a range of opportunities to offer solidarity with their brothers and
sisters in Zimbabwe. Several civil society groups in Zimbabwe have
welcomed and pledged their support for this initiative and we envisage a
collective passage forward in aspiring to assist the democratic journey for
Zimbabweans through inspiration and action. The first action of the
movement will be a fast. High profile South African leaders and individuals will
be fasting in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. Some of the support
already galvanised include: Among them are Moeletsi
Mbeki, Chairperson of Endemol, Sipho Theys from the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum,
Piers Pigou – Director of SAHA, Elinor Sisulu – Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition,
Selvan Chetty – Solidarity Peace Trust, and Yasmin Sooka – Foundation for Human
Rights. Individuals like
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Ivor Jenkins of IDASA and Hugh Lewin, director of
SACST will be fasting one day a week, every Wednesday. Other participants,
including Kumi Naidoo and Nomboniso Gasa will be fasting for up to 21
consecutive days whilst residing at the Central Methodist Mission. Rev Priscilla
Everson, Anglican Priest in the JHB Diocesse, Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central
Methodist church. The fast will continue
for a period of 3 months unless meaningful and tangible gains towards the
demands put forward are met. Fasting
has been chosen to symbolise the hunger and discomfort faced by millions of
Zimbabweans every day in varying forms of severity. The organisations and individuals
included in this press invitation are not the summation of support; rather due
to a limit of space we could not list everyone. Please RSVP or for further
information contact Emily Wellman at ewellman@idasa.org.za or on 072 236
2712. The website for this movement
is www.savezimbabwe.com It will be
completed in time for the launch on Wednesday morning, but please feel free to
watch it develop.
Dear friends,
Please see the
attached invitation for press and individuals to the launch
of the Save
Zimbabwe Now solidarity movement.
Wednesday 21 January, 11am at the
Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg.
This initiative aims to
consolidate the existing solidarity groups and
actions where possible into a
loud and clear voice represented by all
parties and stakeholders both here in
South Africa and in Zimbabwe.
We hope you will be able to attend in
numbers.
The website which is still being uploaded is www.savezimbabwenow.com
There
is a Facebook group Save Zimbabwe Now too.
Best regards
Emily Wellman
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