Regional leaders at a summit said on Tuesday they had reached a breakthrough in negotiations on implementing a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe, but the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said it was disappointed with results of the meeting.
The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) grouping said after the meeting in South Africa — its fifth attempt to secure a deal on forming a unity government — it had decided that MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai should be sworn in as prime minister by February 11.
SADC also agreed that control of Zimbabwe’s hotly disputed Home Affairs Ministry, which has been a main obstacle to a final agreement, should be divided between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party and the MDC for six months.
”All the parties expressed confidence in the process and committed to implementing the agreement,” South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, current SADC chair, told a news conference.
But the MDC quickly issued a statement after the SADC communiqué was read out, making clear its disappointment and raising the possibility that a deadlock would drag on as Zimbabweans face growing economic hardships.
The MDC said ”quite clearly the conclusions reached as reflected in the communiqué fall far short of our expectations”.
The MDC said its national council would meet this weekend to define its position on the summit.
Signature of the power-sharing deal in September was seen as a chance to prevent an economic collapse that would add to the strain on neighbours already hosting millions of Zimbabweans who fled in search of work and, more recently, to escape a cholera epidemic.
Western leaders want Mugabe to step down and a democratic government to embrace economic reforms before billions of dollars in aid is offered, but Mugabe has refused.
In Brussels, the European Union stepped up pressure on Mugabe by adding 27 individuals and 36 firms to a sanctions list, EU officials said on Monday.
Mugabe, in power since 1980, and his Zanu-PF party have urged the opposition to join a unity government but say they will not hesitate to form one without them.
Zimbabwe’s rival parties have been locked in a dispute over control of key ministries while prices double every day and cholera has killed nearly 2 900 people since August.
Zimbabweans want a new leadership to tackle severe food and fuel shortages. The local currency is virtually worthless. — Reuters