Zimbabwe: Opposition pessimistic on SADC intervention
Posted by africanpress on October 31, 2008
Nairobi (Kenya) – Zimbabwe’s main opposition has contradicted the 15 nation Southern African Development Community on the reasons for the country’s power sharing deadlock. This has fuelled pessimism that the regional block will succeed in forcing the political rivals to form a government of national unity.
On Monday, a SADC troika meeting made of leaders from South Africa, Swaziland, Angola and Mozambique called for a full summit of the regional body to deal with the Zimbabwean crisis after a 13 hour meeting failed to break the impasse. A communiqué issued at the end of the summit said the only dispute delaying the implementation of the agreement signed on 15 September was the allocation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is in charge of the police.
But two days after the meeting, the MDC issued a statement saying the parties were at loggerheads on almost all the key ministries. The opposition party led by Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, said President Robert Mugabe also appeared unwilling to share the posts of provincial governors, permanent secretaries and diplomats.
The statement said Mugabe unwillingness to share the positions undermined genuine power sharing. Mr Tsvangirai will become Prime Minister if the deal brokered by for South African President Thabo Mbeki is finally implemented.
“There is an attempt to ignore or over look fundamental principles and hence the claim in some circles that only the portfolio of Home Affairs is outstanding,” the MDC said. “Nothing can be further from the truth.”
Analysts said instead of calling a SADC summit, which is unlikely to deliver a final solution to the complex crisis, the matter should have been referred to the African Union. SADC and AU are the guarantors of the agreement that calls for the formation of a unity government between President Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF and the two formations of the MDC.
“SADC has struggled with the Zimbabwe problem since the disputed presidential elections in 2002 and there is not much that it can do now,” said Mr Joseph Mhishi, an analyst. “After the troika failed to narrow the gap between the parties, SADC should have thrown in the towel.”
The SADC intervention has always been clouded by the MDC’s lack of confidence in Mr Mbeki’s mediation as it accuses him of siding with Mr Mugabe. Mr Mbeki was appointed by SADC in 2002 to lead the mediation effort and was re-assigned this year following the disputed June 27 presidential election.
“Although there are few SADC leaders who are prepared to stand up to Mugabe like Botswana, the rest don’t seem ready to prevail on Zanu PF to genuinely share power.” Mr Mhishi said. “They hold Mugabe in so much awe.”
The deal that is seen as the best opportunity for ending Zimbabwe’s unprecedented economic and political crisis has stalled over the control of the most powerful ministries. The MDC accuses Mr Mugabe of wanting to grab all the powerful posts, while Zanu PF accuses the opposition of deliberately stalling the process of setting up the government to invite Western intervention.
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API/Source.The Nation (Kenya) – October 29, 2008.
