http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=3900#more-3900
September 11,
2008
By Our Correspondent
HARARE - A power-sharing
deal has been reached between Zimbabwe's political
rivals following weeks of
intense haggling between the major political
parties.
SADC-appointed
broker Thabo Mbeki announced the major breakthrough late
Thursday at a
hastily organised press briefing at the Rainbow Towers, venue
of the
negotiations.
He told reporters that there had consensus had been
achieved over the
formation of an all-inclusive government from the three
sides represented at
the talks. President Robert Mugabe, and main MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai
and leader of a breakaway MDC faction Arthur Mutambara are
the three
principals at the talks.
Mbeki told reporters that details
of the power-sharing deal would be
announced to the public on
Monday.
"They have all endorsed the document, signed it," Mbeki
said
He said all parties had signed the deal without
reservations.
Regional leaders are expected to attend the official
signing ceremony
Monday.
Mbeki said he was confident that the
international community would respond
to the economic challenges facing
Zimbabwe so that the political agreement
could work.
"We will be back
in Harare on Monday to participate in the formal ceremony
and the signing,"
Mbeki said.
The negotiations have been difficult and extended. It has
been a challenge,
moderating the latest, the latest round started on Monday
- leading to a
deal after four days of intense negotiations.
MDC
spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the parties had agreed on an all-inclusive
government and insisted that details will only be announced
Monday.
Tsvangirai has during the duration of the talks demanded full
control of
Cabinet. A source said the deal involved a Council of State that
will be
chaired by Mugabe in a largely advisory role and the Council of
ministers,
that will be chaired by Tsvangirai and would be responsible for
the
day-to-day running of government.
Finer details however remained
sketchy.
Mbeki said the talks had been absolutely crucial for South
Africa, which
currently hosts almost three million Zimbabwean exiles. Mbeki
said he felt
his policy of quiet diplomacy has been vindicated.
"We
never paid attention to criticism of quiet diplomacy," Mbeki said.
"Quiet
diplomacy is quiet. If it's not quiet, then it's something else."
Mbeki
apologised to journalists for the media blackout around the talks and
said
he was glad all parties had respected their oath of secrecy and that it
had
produced a positive outcome.
"This is not a facilitation outcome," Mbeki
said. "It's a decision of the
people of Zimbabwe."
Mbeki was expected
to leave for South Africa Friday then for Swaziland to
brief the SADC troika
chair, King Mswati III on the deal.
Mugabe has been in power since
independence in 1980. He lost the March 29
poll to Tsvangirai, who failed to
reach the 50 percent threshold that would
have enabled him to form his own
government. He later withdrew from the June
27 presidential run off vote,
citing violence and restrictions to his
election campaign.
| ||
HARARE -- Details of the Zimbabwe
power-sharing deal agreed on Thursday are yet to be officially disclosed. Chief
mediator South African President Thabo Mbeki said this would be done at the
official signing ceremony on Monday, 15 September
2007.
Below ZimOnline lists some of the major
highlights of the deal as supplied to us by our sources who were involved in the
negotiations. We will avail more details as they come.
The
Highlights:
The Times
September 12, 2008
Jan Raath, Martin Fletcher and Jonathan
Clayton
"We've got a deal," Morgan Tsvangirai told journalists waiting in the
lobby
of the Rainbow Towers hotel in Harare. It was the first news the world
had
that he and President Mugabe had at long last thrashed out a
power-sharing
agreement.
If they really have, and if it sticks, it
will mean an extraordinary
alliance between Robert Mugabe and those who
until yesterday were his
bitterest foes - people who have been spied on,
beaten up and arrested and
seen friends and family killed by his
thugs.
The on-again, off-again talks between Mr Tsvangirai and the man
known to his
people as "the Old Crocodile" began on July 21 and had seemed
to be
meandering towards failure. On Monday they were shrouded in gloom and
pessimism. Despite some optimistic noises from both parties on Wednesday,
The Herald - the state-run paper and propaganda organ for the ruling
regime - was repeating accusations that Mr Tsvangirai was taking orders from
the West and seeking to "reduce President Mugabe to a ceremonial leader.
That is obnoxious to the establishment here."
As the weeks passed,
the derision of President Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" and
mediation turned to
a weary scorn. Frustrated by the lack of progress, the
EU was preparing to
add more names to its list of figures subject to a visa
ban and whose assets
had been frozen.
And yet on Wednesday Mr Mugabe was sounding upbeat. In a
throwaway remark -
of which, with hindsight, the world should have taken
more notice - he told
reporters: "I am optimistic. We are not born to be
pessimistic, are we?"
Mr Mbeki, the South African President, certainly
sounded positive as he
presented the agreement last night, although he urged
the international
community to wait and scrutinise the details - and not
rely on what they
thought should be in it. "It's made in Zimbabwe, it's made
by Zimbabweans,"
he said. "The rest of the world needs to respect that the
people of Zimbabwe
have taken a decision about their own
country."
Peter Hain, Britain's Africa Minister, sounded a note of
caution describing
President Mugabe as a "slippery customer". Mr Hain
recalled how followers of
Joshua Nkomo, a former opposition leader, were
killed despite Mr Nkomo
reaching an agreement with Mr Mugabe, his former
comrade in the struggle
that ended with Zimbabwean independence in
1980.
"He [Mr Mugabe] effectively swallowed his party up and killed a lot
of his
followers and obviously we don't want to see a repeat of that, but I
don't
think Tsvangirai would have agreed to anything that could see an
action
replay of what happed to Nkomo.
"I think that because
Tsvangirai won the presidential election, and because
all the African
leaders, however muted their criticisms may have been of
Mugabe, know that
this crisis which Mugabe has created on his own is not
sustainable."
A Brussels-based diplomat who asked not to be named
said: "We will see. The
devil is in the details. It is a bit too early to
react. We will see at the
Council of EU Foreign Ministers [which meets on
Monday]."
If the deal does stick, the new government will face an
overflowing in-tray.
Zimbabwe has gone in a few years from the economic
pride of Africa to utter
basketcase. One of its leading banks, Kingdom Bank,
has said that the
country's inflation rate was more than 20 million per
cent. Recently the
Government had to knock 13 zeros off the currency because
banks and bank
machines simply could not cope with the
mathematics.
In downtown Harare yesterday the banks were jammed with
people hoping to
cash cheques or trying to move their money by electronic
transfer. Outside
the queues at ATMs stretched for hundreds of people. The
resentment of
customers was intensified by the realisation that by the time
they got their
money, it would be worth less than when they started to
queue.
The economic collapse is evident in frequent power cuts and water
shortages,
in the mountains of uncollected rubbish and the broadening rivers
of raw
sewage. Crime and corruption have exacerbated a crisis rooted in
severe
food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.
The world has
marvelled at pictures of Zimbabweans visiting the supermarket
carrying piles
and piles of near-worthless notes - images that would be
laughable if they
did not point to a human tragedy.
For anyone brave enough to speak out as
a supporter of Mr Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change since the
elections of March 29, violent
retribution has been a fact of life. Election
workers have been beaten until
the flesh has fallen from their bones, made
to sing songs in praise of Mr
Mugabe at allnight reeducation sessions, or
murdered. Hundreds have gone
into hiding. Like the millions of Zimbabweans
who have fled abroad - to
neighbouring countries, to Europe and America -
they may start weighing up
plans to return home. Most will take their time
to assess the political
settlement before deciding on their future - to see
if the new dawn is a
true one.
The new unity government is expected
to agree an emergency economic revival
programme, and to dispatch Mr
Tsvangirai to mobilise vital financial and
food aid. Fully a third of
Zimbabwe's 12 million citizens have fled the
country. Most of those that
remain survive on barely a bowl of sadza -
mealie-meal porridge - a day. The
most basic services, health, education,
transport, have all but collapsed.
Zimbabwe now has the lowest life
expectancy in the world.
If Mr
Mugabe is right, and we should be optimistic, then the only way is up.
The
long road
1999 Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) forms as
economic woes
persist
2000 Zanu (PF) narrowly holds off challenge
from MDC, led by Morgan
Tsvangirai, in parliamentary elections
2002
Robert Mugabe is reelected as President
2003 Mr Tsvangirai is arrested
twice and charged with treason
2004 Mr Tsvangirai cleared
March
2005 Zanu (PF) wins two thirds of the votes in parliamentary
elections,
which the opposition says were rigged
May-July 2005 A "clean-up"
programme destroys tens of thousands of homes,
many in areas where MDC has
strong support
November 2005 Zanu (PF) wins majority of seats in the new
Upper House of
Parliament
March 2007 Mr Tsvangirai in hospital after
being arrested at a rally
June 2007 Zanu (PF) and the MDC hold
preliminary talks in South Africa
March 2008 First round of parliamentary
and deferred presidential elections
April 2008 Results released by Zimbabwe's
electoral commission show Mr
Mugabe's party losing its majority in
Parliament for first time
May 2008 Mr Tsvangirai declared winner of the
presidential election, but
without the outright majority he
needs
June 22 Tsvangirai withdraws from run-off to be held on June
27
June 29 Mugabe declared the winner by a landslide and sworn in as
President
July 1 African Union leaders call for the formation of a
government of
national unity
July 10 Zanu (PF) and the MDC begin
preliminary talks in Pretoria
July 21 Deal signed that paves way for
detailed talks
August 10-12 Power-sharing talks in Pretoria
August
25 Parliament sworn in
September 9-11 Talks leading to deal
The Times
September 12, 2008
Jonathan Clayton:
Analysis
Ironically, Morgan Tsvangirai may find the tortuous negotiations
with
President Mugabe on a power-sharing deal the easy part.
He will
now be sitting down with men who have arrested and beaten him and
his
supporters for years and have no interest at all in making a success of
the
new government.
Mr Mugabe, 84, who is in denial about the failings of his
leadership and
particularly the violence unleashed by his henchmen, will
relish a more
grandfatherly type of role, modelling himself on Nelson
Mandela - the man he
considers usurped his position as Africa's greatest
hero.
Mr Mugabe, who treats opposition figures like recalcitrant
children, can be
very benign on a one-to-one basis, in sharp contrast to his
henchmen who
control the security services and fear that the new government
may try to
pursue them in the courts.
These men, who have effectively
run the country through the shadowy Joint
Operational Command (JOC) since
the disputed elections at the end of March,
have said time and again that
they will not serve a man such as Mr
Tsvangirai, who did not fight in the
guerrilla war of independence.
Whether the deal works or collapses before the
ink is dry will depend
largely on the details, particularly the amount of
power Mr Mugabe will
still retain and how he uses it.
With inflation
at 11 million per cent and the food shelves bare, Mr Mugabe
had no option
but to agree this deal. If the economic situation improves, he
and his
supporters may well try to wriggle out of some of the concessions
they made.
It would not be the first time that Mr Tsvangirai, never the
sharpest of
politicians, has been duped. His opponents would be only too
happy for his
reputation to be damaged by poor government, and the scale of
the task
before him is so enormous that it is hard to see how he can
possibly meet
the aspirations of the long-suffering population.
Here, the much maligned
President Mbeki of South Africa will be critical. Mr
Mbeki has worked to
achieve this accord and with his term of office ending
next year he will be
keen to make sure it does not unravel. His role in
ensuring the adoption of
a new constitution that severely reduces the power
of the president will be
critical.
Mr Mbeki, the official mediator of the Southern Africa regional
grouping,
SADC, has said that the new government and the deal that led to it
will be
unveiled on Monday at a ceremony attended by regional heads of
state.
SADC endorsement will make it hard for Britain and the European
Union not to
deliver on a promised multimillion-pound rescue package, even
though it will
stick in the throats of many effectively to bail out Mr
Mugabe while he is
still in office.
Mr Mugabe's appetite for power
has waned in recent months. He may decide to
step down in six months to a
year, but has made it clear that he will only
allow real power to be wielded
by members of the ruling Zanu (PF) party.
The new government will
therefore be dogged by in-fighting and power
struggles. But the world will
hope that the violence will no longer be on
the streets.
The Times
September 12, 2008
Jan Raath in Harare
It's been a risky business being
the only white face in a crowd of blacks,
most of whom are very unpleasant
secret agents or media police, in the lobby
of the hotel where the crisis
negotiations have been going on for the last
four days.
The last time
the negotiations were under way, last month, a white
journalist was arrested
and the other two present slipped out of a side
door. So my presence at the
talks has been fleeting - ten minutes a few
times a day to consult with my
more safely hued colleagues.
I was at home last night when Colin called
to say Mbeki would be holding a
press conference. To announce failure, I was
sure. I arrived minutes after
Morgan Tsvangirai had left. "He said it's a
deal," said Colin. "He was
beaming. He was so pleased, he didn't know what
to do with himself."
I stood in amazement. Everyone in Zimbabwe has been
disappointed so often
that we were like a nation of a serially cuckolded
husbands. This was a
strange experience. I waited with the crowd on the row
of steps for Mr Mbeki
to come out of the lift and into the lobby and address
us.
I never thought there were so many journalists left in Zimbabwe after
the
regime's vicious predations on the press. "No there are not," said
Phillip.
"Look how many there are in suits and not carrying notebook or a
camera." A
white man, allegedly a foreigner, was frogmarched away earlier,
he said.
There was a handful of Chinese to the side of group. I wondered if
I should
join them.
I stayed put, determined to brave it out, to make a
loud scene if any spook
tried to "pick" me, as local parlance has it. They
won't do it now. I
thought. I am sure that, whatever the agreement, they
wouldn't dare now.
Suddenly the mass of journalists turned as one and
scurried up the stairs.
We were going to have the luxury of a proper press
conference in a
conference room. With chairs. Would they try and stop me
going in? Let 'em
try now, I said. Gosh, I'm getting bold all of a
sudden.
Whatever the deal contains, it will mean Mr Mugabe will never be
the same.
Unless Mr Tsvangirai and his entire cohort of lawyers, advisers
and
consultants had been drugged, they would not have accepted a deal that
would
give Mr Mugabe anything like the absurd range of powers he was
demanding
when this four-day session began. It means he will have the
completely
foreign experience of having to share power with someone else,
with one he
loathes. He will have to consult, and share meetings where he
will not be
treated as a god.
Mr Mugabe must have slipped out of the
building when we trooped up to the
conference room. He's not normally one to
dodge the cameras.
As I sat in the conference hall waiting for Mr Mbeki,
I mused over Mr Mugabe's
constant incantation. "Morgan Tsvangirai will
never, never, never rule this
country." Sorry, Bob. You've just opened the
door.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=3876
September 11, 2008
By Our
Correspondent
BULAWAYO - President Robert Mugabe on Thursday cast doubt
over any prospect
of the signing of a power-sharing deal with MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai,
saying the MDC and Zanu-PF "will never
mix".
Mugabe told traditional chiefs attending a Chief's Council annual
conference
in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city that a unity deal
between
Zanu-PF and the MDC was like water and fire.
"Thabo Mbeki is
much more patient than us because it is not easy to put
together a positive
and a negative. Putting Zanu-PF and the MDC together to
work together is
like mixing water and fire.
"It is quite difficult for these parties to
be friends especially if one
party is being supported and sponsored by the
outside countries that are
pushing for a regime change agenda. They want
Mugabe to go. Ahambe ngaphi
(To go where)," asked Mugabe in the Ndebele
language of the western
Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe of which Bulawayo is
the capital.
Talks between the MDC and Zanu-PF resumed this week after
they deadlocked
over two weeks ago on the splitting of executive powers
between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai. The talks reportedly deadlocked after
Tsvangirai refused to
sign a power sharing deal that would have relegated
him to a junior role to
Mugabe.
However, reports say South African
President Thabo Mbeki has come up with a
new proposal amid indications and
optimism that Mugabe and Tsvangirai were
in principle agreeable to the
current proposal.
"So far so good," Mugabe was quoted as saying when he
emerged from the
closed-door meeting at the Rainbow Towers Hotel on
Wednesday night.
Tsvangirai, emerging from the talks said: "I must say
that very little is
left (to discuss)."
However, Mugabe on Thursday,
while addressing traditional from all over
Zimbabwe in territory that is
traditionally hostile to his Zanu-PF party,
said there was no progress on
the sticking point relating to the splitting
of power between him and
Tsvangirai. Earlier on, the government mouthpiece,
The Herald, reported that
prospects for a power sharing deal were bleak.
"We are still stuck at the
same point where those from the Movement for
Democratic Change still want to
govern. They want Mugabe to go," the
president told the chiefs.
A
SADC security summit due to kick off on Wednesday had been deferred amid
speculation that Mugabe and Tsvangirai could append their signatures to
Mbeki's latest power-sharing proposal either on Thursday or on Friday.
Yahoo News
Reuters - 42 minutes ago
"I think this (power-sharing deal) -
(Reuters) - Below is reaction to
Zimbabwe's power-sharing agreement reached
between President Robert Mugabe
and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on
Thursday.
LOVEMORE MADHUKU, HEAD OF NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL
ASSEMBLY
PRESSURE GROUP
"The deal is more of a capitulation by the
MDC than by ZANU-PF because I
believe Mugabe gets to keep most of his powers
while Tsvangirai will have
some cosmetic executive authority".
"The
fact that Mugabe remains in power as head of state and head of
government
means the MDC is the one coming into this deal as a junior
partner.
"I believe that under this arrangement the MDC will now be
neutralised as a
political force. But we will have to wait to see how the
union will work but
generally the people of Zimbabwe were also looking for
some kind of
settlement.
"I think this (power-sharing deal) is
something all the parties will be able
to explain to their local
constituencies as necessary".
JOHN MAKUMBE, POLITICAL ANALYST AND MUGABE
CRITIC.
"It (the agreement) was overdue for the sake of the nation. We
don't know
the details yet but this is a move in the right direction. There
is only one
person who can bring something to the table, that is Morgan
Tsvangirai and
the MDC, but it is crucial to see what powers will be
invested in the prime
minister.
"The prime minister must have powers
which facilitates the implementation of
change so that we democratise
Zimbabwe's political system and revamping the
national economy. Tsvangirai
needs meaningful executive powers and to have
his hands on the critical
state machinery such as the security structures in
the country.
"The
deal will hold depending on who will have control of the cohesive
machinery
of the state. If these are still in Mugabe's hands the deal will
unravel and
we will soon be back to the negotiating table".
ALVISE MARINO, EMERGING
MARKETS ECONOMIST, IDEAGLOBAL
"First of all it's great news, or at least
I hope so. In terms of
investment, the very short term will not have much of
an impact on Zimbabwe
right now. In terms of immediate market reaction we'll
see it ... in South
Africa on the rand most probably.
"In terms of
the medium and long-term outlook, the main problem I think will
be
liquidity, the complete unreliability of the currency and the problem of
inflation there. Assuming that the opening on the political front will bring
also an opening through the economic front, I would assume that over the
next year or two we will see a strong influx of foreign
currency.
"It's really hard to tell at the moment, it's really an open
canvas at this
point. In terms of natural resources, Zimbabwe is an
extremely rich country
and I think it will attract a lot in terms of mining,
especially with the
industry declining in other parts.
"In South
Africa right now, the mining industry is not exactly doing very
well, so I
think that will open a lot of opportunities especially for South
African
firms which are probably going to have a somewhat easier time
entering the
market compared to say American or in general, Western firms."
EUROPEAN
UNION DIPLOMAT
"We will see, the devil is in the details, it is a bit too
early to react.
We will see at the Council (of EU foreign ministers who will
meet on Monday
in Brussels).
The Brussels-based diplomat, who asked
not to be named, pointed out that
ministers had planned to discuss Zimbabwe
anyhow.
"We will see on Monday how the power is shared and if the
opposition has
more than a symbolic role."
MARTIN RUPIYAH, DIRECTOR
OF AFRICA RESEARCH, CRANFIELD
UNIVERSITY
"There appears now to be
a reluctance to come out from ZANU-PF, which means
there have been major
concessions from the government side in my view -- not
only agreeing an
executive prime minister's role for Morgan Tsvangirai but
maybe a sharing of
security posts.
"I don't think we are out of the woods yet in terms of
the Zimbabwe crisis.
There are a number of pieces that still have to fall
into place. One is the
role of the military. That still has to be addressed
directly. Also in the
recent weeks or days there has been an upsurge in
violence. The
infrastructure for state-sponsored violence is still in place.
I still have
my doubts as to how this deal will impact the structures on the
ground."
(Reporting by Matthew Tostevin in London; Ingrid Melander in
Brussels;
Stella Mapenzauswa in Johannesburg; MacDonald Dzirutwe and Cris
Chinaka in
Harare)
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Africa News
By
Clare Byrne Sep 11, 2008, 21:12 GMT
Johannesburg/Harare - After a
decade-long political and economic crisis in
Zimbabwe, Africa's 'sinking
Titanic' - as Zambia's deceased president Levy
Mwanawasa once called his
neighbouring country - was headed for shore
Thursday as the 28-year
stranglehold on power of President Robert Mugabe was
finally prised
loose.
In an historic development, South African President Thabo Mbeki
announced
that the authoritarian octogenarian had agreed to a deal to share
control of
Zimbabwe with his arch-rival, Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) leader
Morgan Tsvangirai, whom Mugabe has long disparaged as a puppet
of the West.
Although details of the agreement have yet to be released,
negotiations had
centred on a French-style cohabitation agreement, where
Mugabe would remain
president and Tsvangirai would occupy the resurrected
post of prime
minister. Mbeki said the deal would be formally announced
Monday in the
presence of regional heads of state.
The African Union
had proposed a unity government, modelled on the
arrangement that ended
weeks of bloodshed in Kenya, as a solution to
Zimbabwe's protracted
political and economic crisis.
The deal came at the end of four days of
talks in Harare that followed on
several previous aborted attempts by Mbeki
to bridge the differences between
Mugabe and Tsvangirai on how to divvy up
power.
Tsvangirai had been demanding full control of government, while
Mugabe had
been insisting he retain significant powers on the basis of his
controversial victory in one-man presidential run-off elections in
June.
Tsvangirai won the first round of voting for president, but
garnered too few
votes for an outright victory. He boycotted the run- off
over a spate of
state-sponsored killings of his supporters.
Mbeki
reportedly brought new proposals to the table on Monday, including a
proposal that the two men share control of cabinet. The duration of the
unity government had been another major sticking point. The MDC had been
called for a transitional authority leading to new elections, while Mugabe
was insisting on a full-term government.
Tsvangirai had been under
pressure from his supporters and from Western
powers that back the MDC not
to cave in to pressure within southern Africa
to accept a junior partnership
under Mugabe.
It remained to be seen whether the deal agreed upon would
strip Mugabe of
enough powers to please Britain, the United States and other
countries that
have pledged to plough money into Zimbabwe's reconstruction,
but only if
Tsvangirai and the MDC wield real power.
Whatever the
deal, it will give the MDC its first real taste of power since
it was
founded nine years ago in response to Mugabe's growing
authoritarianism.
But observers have predicted a bumpy road for any
government comprising the
longtime foes.
Many MDC members are still
nursing injuries, both physical and
psychological, after being repeatedly
harassed, detained and even beaten by
state forces over the past eight
years.
Since March, scores of party supporters have been killed by Mugabe
supporters and thousands forced from their homes.
Mugabe got a taste
of the MDC's anger first-hand when he opened parliament
last month to
deafening jeers.
Thursday's agreement is above all a triumph for Mbeki on
the eve of his exit
from power at the end of two terms next
year.
Mbeki's nine years of 'quiet diplomacy' in Zimbabwe had often been
pilloried
as biased towards Mugabe and ineffective.
In the end, it
was the rock-bottom state of Zimbabwe's economy that drove a
reluctant
Mugabe to the negotiating table. With inflation running at 11.2
million per
cent and food in critically short supply, Mugabe is counting on
the
Western-backed MDC to act as a magnet for much-needed foreign aid and
investment.
In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in
February, Tsvangirai
estimated 'at least 5 to 10 billion dollars' would be
needed to turn around
the world's fastest shrinking economy.
The
Zimbabwean government will also be looking to woo back some of the
between 2
and 3 million Zimbabweans who have fled the country over the past
decade,
taking with them precious skills.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own
Correspondent Friday 12 September 2008
JOHANNESBURG - Britain
wants power-sharing talks between Zimbabwe's
political rivals to yield a
deal that reflects the outcome of the March 29
elections in which the
opposition beat President Robert Mugabe and his
ruling ZANU PF
party.
"We want an outcome that reflects the democratic will of the
Zimbabwean
people," Brown told the media in London on
Thursday.
Mugabe, opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan
Tsvangirai
and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a faction of the opposition, on
Thursday
concluded power-sharing talks under the mediation of South African
President
Thabo Mbeki, reaching an agreement that will see them form a
government of
national unity.
"We want an outcome particularly that
reflects the election that was the
first election when obviously the MDC
party showed that it had popular
support," he said, adding that Britain
hoped for "a transition so that it is
possible for the MDC and those people
who have been legitimately elected to
be able to have their legitimate place
in the government of Zimbabwe".
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the first
round presidential voting on March
29 although he failed to secure the
margin required to takeover the
presidency.
The March vote is widely
regarded as more credible than a second round
run-off poll on June 27 won by
Mugabe who was the only candidate after
Tsvangirai pulled out because of
state-sponsored violence against his
supporters. Western nations and several
African countries have refused to
recognise the June poll.
"We will
judge our response by the extent to which that has happened," Brown
said.
Analysts say only a government of national unity could be able
to tackle
Zimbabwe's long-running crisis marked by political violence and a
bitter
recession seen in the world's highest inflation of more than 11
million
percent, 80 percent unemployment, shortages of food and basic
commodities.
Britain, the southern African country's former colonial
power, and other
Western donor nations whose financial support is vital to
any effort to
revive Zimbabwe's crumbled economy insist that they would back
a unity
government only if its executive head is Tsvangirai. - ZimOnline
africasia
HARARE , Sept 11 (AFP)
A power-sharing deal clinched by Zimbabwe's political
rivals should help the
country move forward, a spokesman for the Movement
for Democratic Change
opposition said Thursday.
"This a good deal for
Zimbabwe. It is not about ZANU-PF (Mugabe's party) or
MDC, people should now
move forward for the national good," Nelson Chamisa,
spokesman for the MDC
headed by Morgan Tsvagirai, told AFP after the
agreement was
announced.
He did not give any details of the deal. South African
President Thabo
Mbeki, the mediator in the talks, said that the details of
the agreement
will be made public after a formal signing ceremony next
Monday.
The MDC spokesman said his party was satisfied with the
outcome.
"When we entered these negotiations our objective was to have a
new
constitutional, national healing, improved welfare of the people,
recovery
of the economy, that there is food for the people," Chamisa told
AFP.
"Our objective has been met," he added.
Zimbabwe's crisis
intensified after President Robert Mugabe's widely
condemned re-election in
a June run-off. Tsvangirai boycotted the run-off
despite finishing ahead of
Mugabe in the March first round, citing violence
against his supporters.
http://www.hararetribune.com
Thursday, 11 September 2008 21:03 Trymore
Magomana
There was instant reaction to the news that Robert Mugabe
and Morgan
Tsvangirai had agreed on a power sharing deal. Views ranged from
the
positive to the pessimistic.
++Taurai Gumbo, Epworth, Harare:
"The news that a GNU deal had been reached
came to me as a shock. At first I
thought somebody was playing a prank on
me. This is the best news that i
have received since Mugabe was defeated on
March 29."
++Samson
Ndlovu, Luton, UK: "This is great news. Although i'm happy, i would
like to
warn my fellow Zimbabweans that don't pop open the champagne
bottles, yet.
Wait until Monday to see what was agreed on"
++ Christine Harrison, New
York City, US: "I'm celebrating right now. I know
for sure that the deal
agreed on is the best deal ever. Didn't our leader
Morgan Tsvangirai tell us
MDC supporters that he will not sign a deal that
will not bring change to
Zimbabwe? Didn't he say that? So, if he agreed to
this deal, it means change
is coming to Zimbabwe. This is a new begining for
Zimbabwe."
++MARTIN RUPIYAH, DIRECTOR OF AFRICA RESEARCH,
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY: "There
appears now to be a reluctance to come out from
ZANU-PF, which means there
have been major concessions from the government
side in my view -- not only
agreeing an executive prime minister's role for
Morgan Tsvangirai but maybe
a sharing of security posts."
"I don't
think we are out of the woods yet in terms of the Zimbabwe crisis.
There are
a number of pieces that still have to fall into place. One is the
role of
the military. That still has to be addressed directly. Also in the
recent
weeks or days there has been an upsurge in violence. The
infrastructure for
state-sponsored violence is still in place. I still have
my doubts as to how
this deal will impact the structures on the ground."
++African National
Congress (ANC), Pretoria, South Africa: " This is an
important agreement for
South Africa," ANC party spokeswoman Jessie Duarte
said. "The outcome of a
peaceful settlement for Zimbabwe will bring a great
deal of prosperity and
peace to the SADC region and we congratulate
President [Thabo] Mbeki for
this remarkable achievement."
++South Africa Govt., Pretoria, South
Africa: "The agreement has once more
underlined our often-stated view that
only the people of Zimbabwe, acting
with the support of the international
community, can author their own
destiny out of the current political and
economic challenges facing their
country," read a statement by SA foreign
affairs department spokesman Ronnie
Mamoepa.
++ Thomas Shumba, Harare
Tribune staff: "Instead of celebrating, i will wait
until i know what is on
the document. What did Tsvangirai and Mugabe agree
on? Will the GNU last for
5 years as ZANU-PF demanded? When will Zimbabwe
get a new constitution? What
role was Mutambara given? What of the people,
the ZANU-PF militia who killed
people? Have they been given amnesty? What
about people like Gen. Chiwenga,
ZRP Commissioner Chihuri who said they will
not salute Morgan Tsvangirai?
What will become of them? I will only
celebrate once these and other
questions that i have have been answered."
(reporting by Tandazo Khumalo
in Harare, Pedzisai Ncube in UK, Trymore
Magomana in US and Reuters) Send
your reaction to the GNU deal to
NEWS@HARARETRIBUNE.COM
The deal that has now been reached between Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai opens the way for international donors to help to revive Zimbabwe's
economy. Since the Mugabe government began seizing white-owned farms eight years ago,
the country has gone into rapid decline. It is now the fastest shrinking economy in the world. This marks the moment that the international community gets behind Zimbabwe's
attempts to revive its collapsing economy. But the deal alone is not enough. Fishmongers Group Donors have been meeting for the past 18 months to discuss how to react. The meetings of what is known as the Fishmongers Group - after the restaurant
in Harare where the discussions first took place - established criteria for
their participation. They are looking for two key decisions: for the new government to lift the
restrictions on the distribution of aid across Zimbabwe and for the authorities
to approach the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help to
stabilise the economy. Once this is done the donors plan to come in with a package of aid worth
$1-1.5bn (£568-852m) a year. This will represent a three- or four-fold increase
in the aid that Zimbabwe currently receives. Britain - the former colonial power - plans to immediately double its aid
from the current level of $90m (£51m) a year. Breadbasket again? Donors are optimistic that Zimbabwe could rebound rapidly. The country's infrastructure - its roads, dams and airports - are largely
sound. It also has a large pool of well educated people, many of whom are expected
to flood home from neighbouring South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. In five to 10 years the country would be expected to be back on its feet.
But there will still be difficult questions to resolve. In particular, what to do about the land seized from the white farmers. That, say the donors, will have to be resolved by Zimbabweans themselves,
although foreign finances could ease the process. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change plans to establish a land
claims commission. What is clear is that not all whites are likely to get back their land. At the same time the ruling party's elite - who were given a number of choice
farms - will not be allowed to keep all the farms they took. Donors believe that the key is that there is security of tenure, for only
then will anyone be prepared to put money into agriculture - a sector of the
economy that once made the country the breadbasket of southern Africa.
BBC
News, Africa analyst
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Cuthbert
Nzou Friday 12 September 2008
HARARE - Zimbabwe's Chamber of
Mines has appealed to President Robert Mugabe
to intervene on miners' behalf
and order the country's central bank to pay
US$25 million for gold bullion
delivered to the bank since March this year.
In a letter to Misheck
Sibanda, the chief secretary to Mugabe and the
Cabinet, the Chamber said a
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gold buying firm was
refusing to pay what it owed
the gold producers, adding that this could
affect production this
year.
The gold buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners, is the only one
permitted by
law to buy the precious metal from the country's 354 registered
gold
producers, that include 21 primary, 252 small-scale miners and 81
custom
millers under a government support price facility, which however is
below
world market prices.
Under this facility, producers are paid 55
percent of the deliveries in
foreign currency with the remaining 45 percent
being paid in local currency.
The Chamber's letter dated August 28 read
in part: "We respectfully write
this letter to humbly seek your intervention
on behalf of the gold producers
in Zimbabwe as we have exhausted all other
avenues, in an attempt to receive
payment due to them for gold bullion
delivered to Fidelity Printers and
Refiners from as far back as March of
this year."
The chamber said numerous efforts to engage the central bank
and the
ministries of finance and mining were in vain, forcing them to seek
Mugabe's
intervention.
The gold producers also blamed delays in
payment for "reversing the trend"
of gold production, which at peak surged
to 27 metric tonnes in 1999.
"In recent months gold producers have
experienced delays in the payment of
the Zimbabwe dollar component of
revenue from gold delivered to Fidelity
Printers and Refiners. This
situation has the potential to cause severe
labour relations problems as
gold producers face challenges in paying
salaries and wages," the letter
read
Efforts to get comment from Sibanda and the Reserve Bank governor
Gideon
Gono were in vain. - ZimOnline
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com
11th
Sep 2008 20:45 GMT
By a Correspondent
BULAWAYO - Chiefs, who are
attending their annual conference here, blamed
the government on Wednesday
for failing to provide food to the people,
especially in rural
areas.
The traditional leaders appeared uncharacteristically frank in
their remarks
at the four-day conference, which started on
Tuesday.
Mugabe officially opened the conference earlier
today.
They complained of rampant corruption, involving senior
politicians, the
army, police and civil servants in the distribution of
maize and farm
implements.
One chief even jolted the Deputy Minister
of Agriculture David Chapfika,
telling him that the rosy report on food
imports and distribution that the
minister had made to the gathering was not
reflective of the dire hunger
stalking the rural folk.
"You are not
going to the ground to see the situation there," Chief
Chiweshe, from
Mashonaland East told the visibly shaken deputy minister.
"You are not
going to the Grain Marketing Board depots to see what is
happening there. If
you were, you would not be reading that speech which was
written for you,
because it's very different from what is happening on the
ground."
Chiefs are generally seen as pro-government, but this time
around, they
apparently chose to be honest about the hunger that is most
visible in the
countryside.
Reports of near starvation have been told
over the past few months after the
government banned food relief agencies
from operating.
Although the ban was rescinded last week, millions of
people, who depended
on food handouts from non-governmental organisations,
are living on the
brink of starvation as the NGOs' work is still
limited.
"There is hunger in the countryside," Chief Chiweshe
continued.
"The tonnes of maize that you are talking about are not
reaching the people.
Perhaps there is no hunger at your home. Grain is being
moved, but we don't
know where to."
The traditional leader said this
after Chapfika had presented a report,
giving details of the food
imports.
Chapfika acknowledged that the country was failing to import
enough maize.
He said the country is receiving between 10 000 and 25 000
metric tonnes of
maize weekly far less than 35 000 tonnes needed for weekly
consumption.
The government has imported some 221 000 metric tonnes of
the staple from
October last year. Some 880 000 tonnes are still to be
moved in out of the
1,1 million metric tonnes that have been
ordered.
Another traditional leader, Chief Makore from Gutu lambasted
politicians for
selling maize on the thriving black market in foreign
currency. This makes
it impossible for the ordinary villager to buy the
maize, said the chief.
"This country is being destroyed by chefs. Those
who are called honourable.
After voting for them, they forget about us and
treat us like fools,' he
said.
Chief Fortune Charumbira, a senator
and president of the Zimbabwe Council of
Chiefs, said the provincial food
taskforces, that draw officials from the
army, CIO and other civil servants
were leading in corrupt deals, especially
in Masvingo.
"In my area,"
said Chief Charumbira, "even members of the district taskforce
are
complaining, because members of the provincial taskforce are not doing
their
job properly. They are enriching themselves because of side-marketing
of
maize and we know some members of the taskforce who are building
mansions."
He added:
"Elections are gone and we have to be
frank because during elections, we
tend to hide some things. We need to say
the truth otherwise we will sink
together."
Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the
subject
line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
POEMS
FOR THE DAY
1. "Headquarters - it's time to move"
Fambai
Zvakanaka
There is a Pub
In Rotten Road
It's called the "concrete
skud"
But to those who are really in the know
It's called the "bloody
rooster"
It's the favourite place of comrades-in-arms
As they plot their
fellow's downfall
And as we cogitate our future
There are those who would
negotiate
With those said comrades
And yes, relief we want but at what
price
Will it e 'shake shake' all round?
Will those who cling - let go and
let the tide of change so long denied now
start to flow?
Will there come a
day when Bob and his 'wailers' don't rule the road?
Will there come a day
when people freely wave at passers-by and traffic on
the road?
We yet
yearn a break from this endemic culture of iniquity that for too long
has
shrouded itself in the guise of liberator
Let us seek first the Kingdom of
God and these things;
Justice, freedom, peace and love will be added unto
us
Dear Lord, hear the prayer of your people Zimbabwe
By: The
Jacaranda
2. "Heading South"
The Shattered Skeletons of
motorcars
And ... the stripped soles of rolling donkeys
Litter the verges
of this black artery through Africa
Every now and again Baobabs punctuate the
veldt
Young ones and old witness to this timeless land.
Donkeys, cattle,
goats, people live in the surrounds
And in the distance grey hills rise like
pyramids
The colours that we see;
Orange, sunburnt green, brown and
'has-been-white'.
A dead donkey, victim of a hit and run,
Lies rotting,
more desiccated by the sun
Whilst others graze the tramlines seeking
sustenance in this parched land
A vacant bus-stop waves its fading
sigh
Testimony to this land's sad decline
Crows upon the road, Fast food
consuming:
Dissipating quickly, Last night's road-kill:
Perhaps a
goat.
A woman carries water on her head
How far, who knows?
Life comes,
Life goes
More donkeys, in herds
30 maybe more
And now trucks inward
laden, bearing grain for a starving nation
The kilometers pass by
A group
of people on the right
Forlorn, dejected, disgorged by their crashed
bus
When will this journey end, O God, when?
By: The Jacaranda