Tsvangirai briefs Zuma on Zim progress

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will on Monday brief South African President Jacob Zuma on how Zimbabwe’s six-month old unity government is faring, as his party claims a crackdown on its members.

“The prime minister will be briefing the president on the progress in the implementation of the global political agreement in Zimbabwe,” Zuma’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has claimed a recent crackdown on its members, following arrests of several lawmakers, which it says are aimed at robbing the party of its slim parliamentary majority.

The MDC joined President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party in a fragile coalition government set up on February 13, nearly a year after disputed polls, in an agreement brokered by the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.

South Africa is currently the chair of the SADC.

Zimbabwe’s government has halted an economic meltdown after record-breaking hyperinflation, but the former rivals have failed to agree on several outstanding issues such as the control of the country’s security forces.

Key appointments such the central bank chief and the attorney general have been referred for regional mediation.

The unity government was created to end the violence that erupted after disputed election results led to a political deadlock, crippling the country’s economy and sending millions of Zimbabweans fleeing into South Africa.—AFP