http://www.independent.co.uk
Zimbabwe's prime minister-to-be
talks exclusively to the IoS
By Basildon Peta, Southern Africa
Correspondent
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Zimbabwe's opposition
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, due to become Prime
Minister under a compromise
deal with his old adversary, Robert Mugabe, has
defended the agreement. He
says he has no choice but to trust the man who
presided over the deaths and
torture of hundreds of his supporters.
Speaking exclusively to The
Independent on Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai said: "When
you negotiate, you ought to
have faith and confidence in each other.
Otherwise, there is no point in
negotiating, because you are bound to fail.
I am therefore giving him [Mr
Mugabe] the benefit of the doubt."
Last week, after months of pressure
from President Thabo Mbeki of South
Africa as mediator, Mr Tsvangirai agreed
to work with his arch-enemy under a
power-sharing deal that they are due to
sign tomorrow. "My vision is for
transformation and rebirth of this
country," he told the IoS. "I wouldn't
have agreed to be part of this deal
if it was an inadequate platform to
achieve that vision."
Since he
founded the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) nine years ago,
creating
the first effective opposition to Mr Mugabe since independence in
1980, Mr
Tsvangirai, 56, has been bitter rivals with the 84-year-old
President, who
has derided him as an "ignoramus", "an uneducated tea-boy", a
"British
poodle" and "chematama" (the one with a fat face). Yet they are now
being
forced to share power, despite Mr Tsvangirai's insistence that he
would not
agree to Mr Mugabe's position being anything but ceremonial, and
the older
man's vow that the opposition would "never" govern.
Earlier this year,
after the MDC defeated the ruling Zanu-PF party in
parliamentary elections
and Mr Tsvangirai came out ahead in the first round
of the presidential
poll, Mr Mugabe unleashed a wave of violence against the
opposition. The
monitoring group Human Rights Watch said Zanu-PF and its
allies had been
implicated in at least 163 killings and the beating and
torture of more than
5,000 people. Mr Mugabe claimed victory in the second
round after his
opponent withdrew to avoid exposing his supporters to
further violence, but
international pressure, and the collapse of Zimbabwe's
economy, forced him
to the negotiating table.
Both sides have agreed that details of the deal
will not be disclosed until
tomorrow, but it has emerged that Mr Mugabe will
remain as President and
chair the cabinet. Mr Tsvangirai will become Prime
Minister and chair a
"council of ministers" tasked with debating and
recommending policy
initiatives to cabinet. According to David Coltart, an
MDC senator, Mr
Mugabe will have "greatly reduced powers to those he enjoys
today", while Mr
Tsvangirai will have "substantial", though not "absolute"
power.
The complex power-sharing arrangement has aroused doubts among
some of Mr
Tsvangirai's main allies, such as Dr Lovemore Madhuku, chair of
the
non-governmental National Constitutional Assembly. He does not believe
Mr
Mugabe has shed his tyrannical tendencies. He called the deal "more of a
capitulation by the MDC than by Zanu-PF". Dr Madhuku, a law lecturer, added:
"The fact that Mugabe remains as head of state with substantial powers means
the MDC will be co-opted as a junior partner."
The MDC leader
disagreed, saying it gave him enough leeway to push through
his agenda of
reform. But international donors are unlikely to provide the
money needed to
salvage Zimbabwe's economy unless Mr Tsvangirai is seen to
exercise real
control. The two sides are due to share out ministries during
talks this
weekend.
Chris McGreal,
one of the few journalists to have covered the crisis from
Harare during the
last bloody months, argues that whatever the terms of the
deal to be signed
tomorrow, it could herald the end of Mugabe's brutal
regime
Chris
McGreal
The Observer,
Sunday September 14 2008
However
you look at it, Robert Mugabe is getting away with murder. The
power-sharing
deal he is expected to sign tomorrow with his arch-rival,
Morgan Tsvangirai,
will protect Zimbabwe's president and his cohorts from
prosecution for their
bloody campaign of killings and terror against
opposition supporters and
their leaders.
Mugabe will remain president, even though his claim of
winning 90 per cent
of the valid votes in June's election was met with
universal scorn after
Tsvangirai pulled out because he did not want people
killed going to vote
for him.
The last time Zimbabwe's voters had a
chance to cast a ballot without a gun
to their heads, in the first round of
presidential elections in March,
Tsvangirai won. And that was with millions
of opposition voters in exile and
a good deal of other kinds of intimidation
by the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Now Mugabe will sit at the head of a cabinet
half filled with men
responsible for robbing Tsvangirai of that victory by
murdering, beating and
terrorising the supporters - and sometimes the
families - of the other half
of the cabinet. When they weren't doing that,
they were looting the central
bank, stealing land and driving the economy
into the ground through
incompetence and cynicism, leaving millions on the
brink of starvation.
So an agreement that persuades the opposition to
recognise Mugabe as
president and keeps Zanu-PF's killers and looters out of
jail might be
viewed as a great victory for the old man. Yet the historic
deal holds the
elements to dismantle Mugabe's 28-year rule and reduce the
power of the only
leader Zimbabwe has known until a clean election can be
held.
Behind the scenes, Movement for Democratic Change leaders are
calling the
agreement a watershed. Some quietly realise that Monday could
mark the end
of their struggle to finish Zanu-PF's abusive and sometimes
violent
political domination - the second liberation struggle, as one put it
- and
the beginning of the equally demanding challenge to take control of
government.
If they can pull it off - and, in many ways, whether they
succeed or fail
lies within the MDC's control, not Zanu-PF's - then Mugabe's
pledge that
Tsvangirai would never rule Zimbabwe, and his bloody strategy to
try to
ensure it did not happen, will ultimately have failed.
It is a
complex arrangement, but the nuts and bolts of the agreement are
that while
Mugabe is president, Tsvangirai has day-to-day control of
government as
prime minister and head of a council of ministers. That is a
considerable
asset, even though many of his ministers will be from Zanu-PF.
Tsvangirai
will run the council of ministers without Mugabe present, but
will sit in
the cabinet chaired by the president.
Crucially, the two MDC factions
have a majority of one in both bodies, as
well as control of parliament,
allowing the party to out-vote Mugabe and set
policy. That will allow the
MDC to dismantle the apparatus of repression
which helped keep Mugabe in
power long after his popularity crumbled. The
government will be able to
abolish legislation banning newspapers, locking
up journalists and imposing
severe restrictions on freedom of speech.
Tsvangirai is counting on the
support of civil servants and others, who,
like most middle-class urbanites,
have long backed the MDC but have been
afraid to say so in public. The devil
may be in the detail, which won't be
made public until after the agreement
is signed, but Tsvangirai's aides say
there are no hidden trip
wires.
Much will also depend on the division of ministries, which the two
leaders
were wrangling over yesterday. Mugabe is expected to keep his hands
on the
military through a Zanu-PF defence minister, which the MDC can live
with
because it will help reassure the generals. Tsvangirai has pressed hard
for
control of the police, which is crucial if he hopes to assure people
that
they can vote as they wish in future elections. Both sides are pressing
to
run the justice ministry, but that may be one that Tsvangirai loses
because
of fears within Zanu-PF that if he controls the police and the
justice
system the MDC could hold the guilty to account.
Crucially,
the MDC is likely to get the finance portfolio because foreign
donors will
not want to hand money over to a Zanu-PF minister. It is the
prospect of
that money that unlocked the prospect of agreement. Without
power for
Tsvangirai there will be no foreign aid, and without hard currency
Mugabe
had no means of turning around an imploding economy.
The numbers are
staggering. Inflation is running above 20 million per cent a
year.
Unemployment is 80 per cent. A quarter of the population has left to
look
for work in South Africa and Britain.
The central bank knocked ten zeros
off the Zimbabwe dollar at the beginning
of last month because shops and
banks could not cope with calculations in
the trillions. When it was
launched on 1 August, the new dollar was Z$4 to
the pound, but the black
market immediately offered Z$25. Since then, the
currency has crashed so
fast that the black market rate is Z$13,000 to the
pound. The new banknotes
are worthless and the government does not have the
means to print new money.
Last week, it announced that it would legalise the
use of US dollars and
South African rand, although these are already the de
facto
currencies.
This weekend, there were long queues for petrol after the
pipeline from
Mozambique was shut down over unpaid bills. Outside the
cities, chronic
malnutrition is on the way to becoming starvation. The World
Food Programme
says it will have to feed up to five million Zimbabweans in
the coming
months.
The new government will be desperate to see
foreign money soon, so that
Tsvangirai can show he can deliver some relief
to a distressed population.
But Western governments have said they want to
wait and see if Tsvangirai is
really wielding power, fearing that he may
have been duped into a deal that
allows Mugabe to outmanoeuvre
him.
However, this will be a hard position for Britain and others to
maintain.
They face being accused of neo-colonialism if they fail to embrace
what is
being billed as an African solution to an African problem and
endorsed by
all the major political players in Zimbabwe.
Whether
Tsvangirai actually does hold power will depend in large part on
whether he
can form a working relationship with the leader of the smaller
breakaway
faction of his party, Arthur Mutambara. That may prove too much
for the two
leaders who have not always put the country above personal or
political
interests.
Mutambara, a scientist, has scorned Tsvangirai as ill-educated
and an
incompetent political leader. Meanwhile, Tsvangirai's followers see
Mutambara as a political opportunist out for personal gain. Their fears have
been reinforced by his willingness to play footsie with Zanu-PF because,
although the Mutambara faction only won 8 per cent of the vote in the
election, it holds the balance of power both in parliament and the
cabinet.
But Mutambara has been reined in by his own MPs and will have to
be careful
not to overplay his hand. If he is seen by the voters to be
extending
Mugabe's grip they will make him and his MPs pay at the next
election.
Although Mugabe and Zanu-PF will attempt to widen the divisions
between the
MDC factions and buy off its ministers, the MDC's future is in
its own
hands. If it puts the people before self-interest, and Tsvangirai
and
Mutambara can set aside their deep personal animosity, then it can set
the
agenda and transform Zimbabwe. Mugabe will not be without power, but he
may
be reduced to obstructing more than governing. He could probably bring
down
the new administration, but he is also only signing the agreement in
the
first place because he has no other options.
Meanwhile, a
coalition government is likely to change the political equation
for good.
Power sharing worked well in smoothing the transition from white
rule in
post-apartheid South Africa, where a sunset clause meant there would
not be
an immediate wholesale purge of the former administration and those
who
served it.
That may be all the more important in Zimbabwe, where the deep
loathing and
suspicion between the two sides is personal, and Zanu-PF chiefs
regard
Tsvangirai with contempt for his lack of liberation struggle
credentials.
Yet there are many in Zanu-PF who realise that if their
party is to have a
future it is without Mugabe as leader, and that crippling
the coalition
administration will do nothing to rebuild the party's
fortunes. Throughout
all of this, Tsvangirai will have to stay focused on
getting to another
election swiftly and with his credibility
intact.
The agreement plans a new constitution within 18 months. The MDC
wants to
see an election within two years or so. Unless Tsvangirai messes it
up
completely - and it's hard to imagine that life will not improve if the
foreign money comes in - then the voters will bury Mugabe.
Zimbabwe's
president will probably never be tried for his many crimes. But
tomorrow he
may well be signing the death warrant for his political career.
From
Rhodesia to the Mugabe years
1922 The British South Africa Company ends rule
of Southern Rhodesia and
white minority rule begins.
1963 Central
African Federation - S Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), N Rhodesia (Zambia)
and
Nyasaland (Malawi) - breaks up.
1965 Rhodesia's Prime Minister Ian Smith
declares independence. Zimbabwe
African People's Union (Zapu) and Zimbabwe
African National Union (Zanu),
whose secretary general is Robert Mugabe
emerge.
1978 Smith yields to pressure for negotiated settlement but
elections
boycotted by Zanu and Zapu. New government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia
fails to win
recognition. Civil war rages.
1979 Peace deal is
brokered.
1980 Zanu party wins election; Mugabe is Prime Minister. Joshua
Nkomo is in
the cabinet.
1987 Zanu-PF party is formed by Mugabe and
Nkomo.
1992 Mugabe's wife Sally dies.
1999 Economic crisis brings
riots and strikes. Morgan Tsvangirai forms the
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
2000 War veterans violently seize white-owned
farms.
2002 EU imposes sanctions. Mugabe is re-elected in flawed
elections.
2005 Mugabe razes slums, leaving 700,000 homeless. MDC
splits.
2007 Photos of Tsvangirai and hospitalised MDC leaders, beaten by
police,
cause outrage. South African President Thabo Mbeki appointed to
broker
talks.
March 2008 MDC wins elections and Tsvangirai wins
presidential poll. Riots
break out. Mugabe 'wins' run-off poll. UN
resolution on sanctions vetoed by
Russia and China.
Aug 2008
Power-sharing talks begin.
Tracy McVeigh
The Times
September 13, 2008
Jonathan Clayton
Every year when Robert Mugabe
marks Independence Day with a visit to Heroes
Acre - the monument outside
Harare to the freedom fighters who gave their
lives in the struggle against
white rule - he places roses on the graves of
his old rival Joshua Nkomo
and, with a flourish of political theatre, his
former wife.
Even by
this old tyrant's standards of duplicity it is a staggering piece of
hypocrisy - one that Morgan Tsvangirai would do well to bear in mind. Those
who choose to go to bed with the "old crocodile" do so at their own
peril.
Mr Nkomo, a former opposition leader who thought he was acting in
the best
interests of his people, died a broken man, marginalised and
humiliated by
Mr Mugabe, a far more ruthless political
strategist.
Unlike Mr Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe has been here before. After
months of
negotiations, marked by point-blank refusals and violence between
the two
men's followers, Mr Nkomo was given a seat in the Cabinet. In 1982
he was
wrongly accused of plotting a coup and fled into exile.
A
furious Mr Mugabe declared: "Zapu [Zimbabwe African People's Union] and
its
leader, Dr Joshua Nkomo, are like a cobra in a house. The only way to
deal
effectively with a snake is to strike and destroy its head."
He then
unleashed the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade on Mr Nkomo's
Matabeleland
homeland, killing more than 20,000 Ndebele civilians in an
attempt to
destroy Zapu and create a one-party state.
After the massacres Mr Nkomo
consented to the absorption of Zapu into Zanu,
resulting in a unified party
called Zanu (PF). The rest is history. From
then on Zimbabwe was in the iron
grip of President Mugabe.
In a powerless post, and with his health
failing, Mr Nkomo's influence
declined. When asked late in his life why he
agreed to Mr Mugabe's demands,
he said he did it to stop the murder of the
Ndebele who supported his party
and of his political allies who were being
targeted by Zimbabwe's security
forces.
In his autobiography, The
Story of My Life, a disillusioned Mr Nkomo wrote:
"Nothing had prepared me
for persecution at the hands of a government led by
black
Africans."
Many Zimbabweans look in dismay at Mr Tsvangirai and fear that
history could
repeat itself, hence the largely muted reaction by the
population to the
supposed landmark deal. Immediately after agreement was
announced, Peter
Hain, Britain's former Africa Minister, sounded a note of
caution, recalling
how followers of Mr Nkomo were killed despite his
reaching an agreement with
Mr Mugabe, once an ally in the struggle that
ended with Zimbabwean
independence in 1980.
"Josh Nkomo went into a
power-sharing deal with Mugabe to halt the suffering
of his people. He took
a secondary role in government and paid a huge price.
The parallels with
today are uncanny," Heidi Holland, author of a recent
book, Dinner with
Mugabe, about the tyrant's political rise to power, told
The
Times.
Ms Holland, a white Zimbabwean now resident in South Africa,
added: "Mr
Mugabe still praises the 'unity pact' with Nkomo. It was a
disaster for
everyone else but very successful for him . . . I am sure many
people in the
MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) are very nervous. Anyone
can be duped
by Mugabe, he is world class when it comes to political
manoeuvring."
Political analysts say that there is much concern within
the MDC that its
leader could be tricked by Mr Mugabe, 84. Some even say the
deal could
unravel before the signing ceremony, due on Monday.
"Not
everyone is convinced about this . . . as ever the devil is in the
detail
but many a slip between cup and lip. Even after it is signed
Tsvangirai will
have to be on his guard," said a political analyst close to
the
Opposition.
Mr Mugabe knows that the economy is in ruins. He also knows
this deal could
bring in a much-needed aid package. "If Tsvangirai delivers
foreign support,
he will have served his purpose. If the economy improves,
Mugabe could ditch
him. If it doesn't he could blame him. He will have to be
very careful," Ms
Holland said.
In Matabeleland today all that
remains of the unity pact are a few pictures
of the two men side by side. Mr
Tsvanigirai can be forgiven if he looked a
little uneasy in yesterday's
press photographs.
http://www.independent.ie
Zimbabwe's past power-sharing deals have only
hidden Mugabe's dominance, but
this may work, writes David Blair
By
David Blair
Sunday September 14 2008
EVER since Morgan
Tsvangirai founded the Movement for Democratic Change
exactly nine years
ago, President Robert Mugabe has labelled him a "puppet
of the British'' who
would "never'' be allowed to rule Zimbabwe.
The very fact that this
alleged "puppet'' will now become prime minister --
and reliable reports
suggest that his followers will form a majority in the
new cabinet -- marks
a humiliating climbdown for Mr Mugabe.
His 28-year rule has been one
long, ruthless quest for unchallenged power.
Now, Mr Mugabe is being
forced to share authority with an opponent he once
derided.
That is
the good news.
But many Zimbabweans are deeply suspicious of
power-sharing governments --
and with good reason. They have been formed
twice before and both turned out
to be sham agreements disguising Mr
Mugabe's dominance.
The first government after independence in 1980 was a
power-sharing
arrangement, with Joshua Nkomo, the leader of the Zapu party,
as home
affairs minister. He was quickly sidelined and humiliated and the
deal
collapsed within two years.
It was revived in 1987 when Mr Nkomo
agreed to abolish Zapu and rejoin the
government. This proved to be his
political death warrant and he was
immediately eclipsed by Mr
Mugabe.
Will Mr Tsvangirai suffer the same fate? On the face of it, he
will have a
far stronger hand and a better chance of wielding real executive
authority,
in line with his mandate in the recent presidential
election.
Mr Tsvangirai will be prime minister and his allies will
probably have 13
places in a 31-member cabinet.
Another wing of the
MDC will have three ministers, giving the opposition a
bare majority of
one.
But Mr Mugabe will continue to chair the cabinet. Meanwhile,
officials
believe that Mr Tsvangirai will be in charge of a separate
"council of
ministers''. Which body proves to be the more powerful remains
to be seen.
In practice, however, the cabinet has never counted for much
in Zimbabwe.
Real power has rested with Mr Mugabe alone. When the first
invasions of
white-owned farms happened eight years ago, the full cabinet
gathered while
the president was away at a summit in Cuba. The ministers
decided to stop
the occupations and order the police to clear the
squatters.
Unsure of Mr Mugabe's stance, the police simply ignored the
ministers. As
soon as the president returned, he countermanded the cabinet's
decision.
More recently, the balance of power in Zimbabwe has shifted
dramatically.
The generals and security chiefs sitting on the Joint
Operations Command
have, in effect, assumed day-to-day control of the
government. During this
year's elections, they ensured that Mr Mugabe stayed
in power after his
defeat in the contest's first round and then masterminded
a terror campaign
against the MDC.
The Reserve Bank has become
another key centre of power. As the economy has
succumbed to hyperinflation,
all notions of proper accounting have gone out
the window. The national
budget is now irrelevant and the Reserve Bank
simply prints money to keep
the government afloat.
If Mr Mugabe keeps control of the army and of the
Reserve Bank, he will
probably remain the most powerful man in Zimbabwe.
Using these levers, he
may prove able to contain Mr Tsvangirai and veto his
policies.
But Mr Mugabe is no longer the force he once was. At 84,
everyone believes
this will be his last term as president. Even in the
normal course of
events, this fact alone would lead to a gradual reduction
in his power.
Now that his chief opponent has forced his way into the
government, this
process will be accelerated.
With a majority in the
cabinet -- and a narrow majority in parliament -- Mr
Tsvangirai has real
political assets. While he has made many mistakes in the
past, he has
recovered poise and focus in the last few weeks.
If he plays his cards
skilfully, he could be the first opposition leader to
enter Mr Mugabe's
government -- and eclipse the president.
© Telegraph
http://www.france24.com/
Sunday 14 September 2008
Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
on Saturday
agreed on a list of 31 cabinet portfolios under their
power-sharing deal,
abolishing the ministry of state security.
Reuters
HARARE -
Zimbabwe's ministry of state security will be
scrapped under a power-sharing
deal between
President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai,
according to a list of government departments they agreed
on
Saturday.
A government official said the two met and agreed on
a list
of 31 ministries, including 13 new ones.
The powerful
ministry of state security was abolished, while
the justice ministry was
split into two, with a new prisons
department, according to the list which
was obtained by Reuters.
Details of the ministries allocated to each
party and
individuals to head the ministries would be announced on
Monday.
The issue of who controls Zimbabwe's powerful
security
apparatus is one of the most critical questions surrounding
the
power-sharing deal clinched on Thursday.
But with the
ministry's abolition, it remained unclear how
the secret police -- a key
instrument in maintaining Mugabe's
28-year grip on power -- would be
integrated into the new
government structure, and under whose
authority.
"At the moment it is unclear what will happen to
state
security but I am sure this is something that is being worked by
the
two men (Mugabe and Tsvangirai). I am sure it will have a
home, it is a
matter of time before we know," a senior
government official
said.
"ENEMY WITHIN"
Earlier, an opposition
official said Tsvangirai's Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) was pushing
to head the home
affairs, justice and finance ministries but was willing to
leave
Mugabe's ZANU-PF in charge of security and defence.
Such an
arrangement would give the MDC control over the
police and responsibility for
rescuing an economy reeling from
the world's highest rate of hyper-inflation,
more than 11
million percent.
Thursday's South African-brokered
deal is aimed at ending
months of crisis in Zimbabwe, where Tsvangirai
defeated Mugabe
in the first round of a presidential election in March,
but
pulled out of a June run-off citing a systematic campaign of
violence
against his supporters.
ZANU-PF's top decision-making body, the
politburo, endorsed
the power-sharing deal at a meeting chaired by Mugabe in
Harare
on Saturday, a politburo member told Reuters.
An opposition
senator said on Friday Tsvangirai would be
prime minister and chair a council
of ministers that supervised
the cabinet under the power-sharing
deal.
ZANU-PF would have 15 cabinet seats, Tsvangirai's MDC 13
and
a splinter MDC faction three seats.
There is widespread
caution among commentators over how
quickly the power-sharing deal can end
the crisis or persuade
Western powers -- deeply opposed to Mugabe -- to step
in with
much needed financial support to aid recovery.
Mugabe, 84,
has repeatedly called the MDC a puppet of the
West and political analysts
said the deal was fragile.
Writing in the state-run Herald newspaper,
Nathaniel Manheru
-- thought to be a pseudonym for a senior Mugabe aide --
said
the MDC was now an "embedded" enemy and that ZANU-PF should be
on
guard.
"For a party that has always relied on government
and
intellect for policy incubation, it (ZANU-PF) now has to learn
to
govern in a new environment where the enemy is now within,
well embedded,"
Manheru said.
"The West will now have an eager listening post, right
up to
cabinet. There will be lots of policy pre-emption."
Zimbabweans are
desperate for an end to a crisis that has
ravaged the economy and pushed
millions of refugees into
neighbouring countries.
Financial Times
By James Blitz in
London and Daniel Dombey in Washington
Published: September 13 2008 03:00
| Last updated: September 13 2008 03:00
The European Union last night
said it was reconsidering plans to levy
renewed sanctions against leading
figures in the Zimbabwean regime,
following news that a power-sharing
agreement could be signed on Monday.
However, in Brussels, Washington and
London, senior diplomats said they
would want to pore over the fine detail
of any agreement between Robert
Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change before
deciding whether to grant Zimbabwe economic aid
it badly needs.
"The European Commission of course welcomes this
significant step forward,"
said John Clancy, Commission spokesman on
humanitarian aid and development
issues. "However we will have to wait to
learn much more about this on
Monday. At this stage we are cautiously
optimistic."
Washington also reacted cautiously to the deal. "Our bottom
line is that any
deal must reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people at the
ballot box," said
Sean McCormack of the state department, a reference to the
MDC victory in
the March elections. But it was important that Mr Tsvangirai
was comfortable
with any accord.
Privately, US officials said events
in Zimbabwe were moving in the right
direction, but it was too early to make
any decision about sanctions against
members of the Zanu-PF
government.
Nations and institutions give Zimbabwe long-term development
aid channelled
into the country through non-governmental organisations.
However, there is
no international aid going to the Mugabe regime
itself.
In London, senior officials said any power-sharing agreement
would be
studied carefully for what implications it might have for opening
larger aid
flows. But one official insisted there would be "no sudden
announcements"
about international financial support for Zimbabwe next
week.
The official said: "If the conditions are right, we are ready with
other
partners to support a comprehensive aid package. But we need to know
that
what is emerging is a reforming government, and we will only know this
when
we see what actions it takes."
Louis Michel, EU humanitarian aid
commissioner, said Mr Tsvangirai had told
him he was "satisfied" with the
deal.
Agreement's outlines show potential points of
conflict
Precise details of the power-sharing agreement aimed at ending
Zimbabwe's
political crisis are to be announced publicly on Monday. The
broad outlines
emerging from sources close to the talks are as
follows:
* Robert Mugabe will remain president and will chair the cabinet
and head a
national security council.
* Morgan Tsvangirai will become
prime minister running day-to-day business
through a council of ministers.
The relationship between the council and
cabinet is unclear and a potential
source of tension. It is also unsure
whether Mr Tsvangirai has gained
control of the police force, one of his
central demands.
* There will
be two largely ceremonial vice-presidents and two deputy prime
ministers.
* Ministerial posts will be divided up with 15 from Mr
Mugabe's Zanu-PF, 13
from Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change and
three from a rival
MDC faction. * A new constitution will be agreed within
18 months, leading
to an unspecified transitional period before fresh
elections.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4077
September 14, 2008
NOW that
the deal has been agreed upon, We need level and open minded
politicians to
represent and market us as law abiding peace loving
Zimbabweans to the
international community.
There is going to be a lot of effort needed to
turn around our misfortunes
brought about by Zanu-PF.
Tourism has to
be revived, so we are going to need really good embassy staff
with
nationalistic approach and not the partisan minded current lot such as
Chidyausiku.
Our local industry should be resuscitated with hast
meaning all prohibitive
and undemocratic laws and regulations must be done
away with, such as all
these lisences which are just meant for Zanu-PF
sympathisers.
The confidence of the international community and all
Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora and at home must be gained though getting reed
of undemocratic laws
that suppress the press and the people's freedom to
assemble and express
themselves .We need money to start flowing in. we need
genuine business
people to come in not fly-by-night Chinese or Russian
Mafias taking
advantage of a rogue regime.
Besides tourism, our
economic recovery will probably be spearheaded by
mining and agriculture,.
This is where our salvation is going to come
through so we need to urgently
look at how to rectify the anomalies brought
about by
Zanu-PF.
Unfortunately they will be part of government .
This is
the main issue I am writing about. Zanu-PF is still part of the
problem. I
am still not sure of how MDC is going to deal with Mugabe and
Zanu-PF. If
you lay three bricks to build a house Mugabe and Zanu-PF will
take away two
because that's the way Zanu-PF is. It will never change.
Who is going to
stop Robert Mugabe from using every public opportunity to
tell the West to
go hang. I don't see him shutting up. He is still
President. Who is going to
address the AU, SADC, UN and any other
international body on our behalf?
Mugabe loves the center stage. This is
where he will destroy everything that
we have and we want to build.
I am more than willing to eat my words if
it all turns out to be more
positive than what I am portraying. I would also
like to apologise in
advance.
I still stand by my belief that MDC
should not have signed this deal. The
regime was just about to collapse. My
sources tell me that there wasn't
enough money to pay the civil service. The
dollarization of the economy was
going to quicken the downfall since it was
impossible to pay the civil
service in forex. Then the MDC would have
managed to run the country without
hinderance.
Zanu is a dead brand
which was going to be impossible to resuscitate. This
is because of their
past and present corrupt and murderous activities.
Aligning with them is
suicidal, You can ask Arthur Mutambara and Welshman
Ncube.
The MDC
must watch out.
This also brings out another issue, that is, the space is
now opening up for
another political party. I say so because we now have the
MDC as the only
genuine party and this is dangerous for democracy to
flourish lest we go
back to square one with a one party state .
As a
nationalist I wish this deal will succeed. The people have suffered a
lot
under Mugabe and we deserve better.
God bless Zimbabwe.
Dust
Mukorekore
4 hours ago
HARARE
(AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai will sign a deal on Monday aiming to end a bitter
political
crisis amid doubts over whether their power-sharing accord can
stand the
strain.
Leaders of African nations will watch as Mugabe and the leader of
the
Movement for Democratic Change seal their peace pact that has taken
seven
weeks of hard fought negotiations.
There is widespread
international interest in the details of the deal that
will only be released
at the ceremony.
Ordinary Zimbabweans, charities and human rights groups
and foreign
governments have all expressed caution over the deal, which a
source close
to the talks said would see Mugabe and Tsvangirai jointly
leading efforts to
rescue the stricken nation from a near economic
meltdown.
Mugabe will chair the cabinet, while Tsvangirai would take
charge of a
national security council of 31 cabinet ministers, said the
source, speaking
on condition of anonymity.
"Power will be shared, no
one will get more power than the other party, even
(in) the hiring and
firing of cabinet members," the source explained.
"All decisions are made
by the council, but the council will have to report
back to
Mugabe."
Under the agreement, the national security council under
Tsvangirai will
take charge of the police and the army, which the opposition
says Mugabe
used to terrorise opponents, according to other sources close to
the talks.
Many Zimbabweans reacted warily to the deal, preferring to
wait and see if
the agreement improves their lives struggling with an
official inflation
estimated at 11.3 million percent, food shortages and
widespread
unemployment.
South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki who
mediated the talks called it an
"historic" deal.
But the United
States, European Union and former colonial power Britain all
gave a cautious
response.
"We've started to try to get some details about the deal," US
State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Friday. "I'm going
to
withhold any more definitive comment until we have a full understanding
of
it."
John Clancy, a European Commission spokesman, called the
accord a
"significant step forward," but added: "However we will have to
wait to
learn much more about this on Monday."
The European Union is
reconsidering plans to extend sanctions against
Zimbabwe following the deal,
according to the French presidency.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David
Miliband said Zimbabwe's people "deserve a
lasting democratic settlement
that will bring reform, economic recovery and
stability. We look forward to
seeing the full details of the agreement."
Zimbabwean aid groups
predicted the deal would not end the country's woes.
"A government of
national unity founded upon an elitist power sharing
agreement is no
guarantee that the humanitarian and other needs of the
people of Zimbabwe
will be addressed and healed," the National Association
of Non-governmental
Organisations said in a statement.
The body of at least 1,000
humanitarian and rights groups described the
talks which led to the deal as
"flawed."
The agreement reached Thursday followed a prolonged ruinous
political
stalemate between the 84-year-old Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
In
March polls, Mugabe's ruling party was routed for the first time since
independence from Britain in 1980.
Mugabe was then re-elected
unopposed in a June presidential election run-off
that Tsvangirai boycotted
despite finishing ahead of the president in the
March first
round.
Neighbouring Botswana welcomed the deal, despite having condemned
Mugabe's
re-election. Botswana's Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani said he
and
President Ian Khamahe would go to Harare on Monday for the
signing.
After Mugabe's re-election in a one-candidate vote, Botswana had
called for
Zimbabwe to be suspended from the African Union and the Southern
African
Development Community.
"We would go there to witness with
others" and to show the leaders of
Zimbabwe we appreciate they are moving
"in the positive direction", he said.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Sunday, 14 September 2008 08:05
JOHANNESBURG:
BUSINESSES
hit by xenophobic attacks in South Africa in May are still
to get
compensation for damages incurred, and this is threatening to lower
investor
confidence in the country.
Businesses worth about at R1.5
billion were destroyed during weeks of
onslaughts on foreigners, which also
left over 60 people killed and some 30
000 displaced.
The
attacks originated from the poor township suburbs of Alexandra
before
spreading to Diepsloot, Eastrand, Hillbrow, Johannesburg Central
Business
District, and eventually igniting in several other suburbs,
resulting in
wanton destruction of property and heavy loss of life.
Worryingly,
South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC),
South Africa
Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South Africa Trade
Unions
(COSATU), have not raised the issue of compensation despite
condemning the
disturbances when it happened.
As if that was not enough, South
Africa's Black Economic Empowerment
(BEE) did not make any public statement
condemning the action, which could
scare away investors from an otherwise
vibrant economy.
Most foreign nationals doing businesses in South
Africa contribute
close to 25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
with their
contributions being channelled towards the uplifting of locals'
lives
through tax.
The tax on most African nationals is
estimated at 25 percent of the
local GDP and has contributed to the
improvement of the country's defence
and security system, upgrading of
public infrastructure such as hospitals,
stadiums, roads, airports and
rail.
The anxiety is showing among foreigners operating businesses
in South
Africa as they feel the government needs to do more to safeguard
their
investments in the wake of the xenophobic disturbances.
"What worries most of us is that we are not here for the sake of being
in
SA, but we are doing business that contributes towards the uplifting of
ordinary people's lives through government taxes. Whether I operate an
internet café or food outlet in the street, the South African government is
taxing me.
"Every month my money is deducted, be it my salary
or my company's
monthly revenue tax, I feel cheated and robbed," said Obina
Okoli, a
Nigerian national operating a chain of internet cafes in
Johannesburg.
Duke Francoise of Cameroon, who has investments in
Pretoria and
Mamelodi, noted that heavy taxes they were paying were part of
human life
development system, and therefore they need to get security they
deserved
from the State.
"As an African foreign national with
investments here, paying tax to
government is part of my contribution
towards developing people's lives in
South Africa. Apart from that, I also
create employment for the locals.
"Putting up clinic or hospital
structures throughout the country is
none of my business, but the
government's responsibility because we give
their government the required
revenue.
"The xenophobic attacks were unfortunate. Now that the
dust has
settled, this matter should be taken further with the SA
government," said
Francoise.
Questions were sent to the
attention of both African National Congress
president Jacob Zuma, the
party's secretary-general Gwede Mantasha, South
Africa Communist Party
(SACP)'s Blade Dzimande and Congress of South Africa
Trade Unions (COSATU)
general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, but for about two
weeks, no response was
forthcoming from the leadership.
Even BEE has also remained silent
on the compensation issue which
upset most foreign investors, both the
affected and those who survived.
"Surely, how does BEE feel about
the xenophobic attacks perpetrated
against us? They are what they are
because of our economic contributions to
the government. I am wondering why
up to now the BEE leaders such as Tokyo
Sexwale, Patrice Motsepe and several
others have not said a word on
compensation of fellow blacks doing business
in South Africa," said
Mudzingwa Machakaire of Zimbabwe.
It
remains to be seen whether the government will eventually
compensate the
businesspeople caught in the attacks, which might have had an
impact even on
tourism and was threatening to mar the 2010 FIFA World Cup
until it was
brought under control.
-CAJ News.
http://www.christiantoday.com
by Jenna
Lyle
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2008, 7:59 (BST)
Zimbabweans
read a newspaper in Harare Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. A
breakthrough deal,
announced Thursday night by mediator, South African
President Thabo Mbeki,
top three photos, ends months of...
(AP Photo)
Catholic development agency
Progressio has given a cautious welcome to
Zimbabwe's new power sharing
agreement announced by South African President
Thabo Mbeki last
week.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF and the Movement for
Democratic
Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai are expected to sign the
Government of
National Unity into existence on Monday, ending six months of
political
deadlock and violence between supporters of both
parties.
Dr Steve Kibble, Progressio Advocacy Co-ordinator, said that it
would be
some time yet before Zimbabwe's woes were put right.
"While
offering a cautious welcome to this news we know from the people we
work
with in Zimbabwe that there is currently a lack of clarity about the
detail
of the agreement and there is a long road ahead before the manifold
crises
of Zimbabwe will be overcome."
Dr Kibble added: "It is very early days.
We have no idea at the moment who
will be in charge of the key areas of
security and policing, or just how
long the term of the Government of
National Unity will be in order that the
conditions for free and fair
elections are created."
He said that Zimbabwe faced the huge challenge of
restoring confidence in
outside investors and securing the removal of
limited sanctions.
Progressio is calling for the immediate cessation of
violence and the
unfettered access of humanitarian and UN agencies to reach
those in need. It
is also seeking the removal of a ban on NGOs working on
human rights and
democracy, as well as prosecution of the suspected
perpetrators of the
violence.
Dr Kibble said Progressio's partners in
Zimbabwe were calling for the
complete restoration of democratic
structures.
"[They] say that in the medium term they will need not only
conditions for
free and fair elections, but also the widest possible
transparent process
for a new people-driven constitution," he
reported.
"They will also need reform of the judiciary, police, civil
service,
military, and the disbanding of the Joint Operations Command (JOC).
A
process of truth-seeking and reconciliation will also have to be
undertaken."
The international community should offer recovery
programmes once Zimbabwe
took firm steps towards normality and democracy, he
added.