/ 9 November 2008

Zim rivals refuse to budge ahead of crisis summit

Zimbabwe’s ruling party and opposition leaders looked set to dig their heels in on power-sharing demands ahead of a crunch summit of Southern African leaders in South Africa on Sunday.

Regional leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathered in Johannesburg in a last-ditch bid to save a fragile deal aimed at creating a unity government, which teetered on the brink of collapse.

President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and rival Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) appeared mulish on the allocation of key Cabinet posts which stalled the September 15 deal.

Regional leaders have long been divided on how to deal with the Zimbabwe crisis and calls are mounting for them to get tough with Mugabe as they play what is seen as their last card for the troubled country.

Executive secretary Tomaz Salomao said the summit was a “crucial, crucial moment for Zimbabwe” as time was fast running out for Zimbabwe where inflation has soared to 231-million percent and five million people needed food aid.

But the parties ratcheted up their rhetoric on the eve of the key meeting, both refusing to budge from their positions and blaming each other for the stalemate.

“Tomorrow is make or break. Either there is a deal or no deal,” a top government official said ahead of a meeting by ministers who thrashed out a plan to break the logjam Saturday night.

“If Morgan and his team continue to make outrageous demands, shifting goalposts, we will go it alone and we don’t care what the world will say.”

Hailed as a step toward ending months of political turmoil and Zimbabwe’s descent into economic chaos, the deal became bogged down by disagreements over who would control the most powerful Cabinet posts.

A source close to Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change said the opposition party would abandon the deal unless there was a major change in mindset from their opponents.

“Unless there is a major shift in position from Zanu-PF we will not accept this deal. We will resort to Plan B which is they might go it alone and they form their own government, as we are not prepared to accept anything that is not worthwhile for Zimbabweans.”

The two parties are bickering over the allocation of the home affairs ministry — the most controversial portfolio with control over police and internal security.

Southern African leaders have been urged to pressure parties into agreement at the emergency summit of the 15-nation bloc, with South Africa taking an unusually tough position, warning this week the stalemate threatened regional stability.

“We believe South Africa and the region cannot be held to ransom by parties who are failing to reach agreement on the allocation of Cabinet posts,” government spokesperson Themba Maseko told reporters on Thursday.

However while SADC is optimistic about the meeting — one of many held since disputed elections in March — political analyst Claude Baissac said “they will not succeed” because Zanu-PF would not give up power.

“They [Zanu-PF] don’t have a plan B,” he said, adding that the summit was SADC’s last chance to obtain credibility in dealing with regional issues.
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the March first-round presidential vote, but pulled out of a June run-off, accusing the regime of violence against his supporters that Amnesty International estimates left at least 180 dead. – AFP