Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will meet opposition leaders later on Saturday to iron out differences over the makeup of a unity government aimed at ending the country’s political chaos, officials said.
Talks stalled over the allocation of Cabinet posts after Mugabe, main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai and head of the MDC splinter group Arthur Mutambara signed a power-sharing deal last month.
”The meeting of the three principals will be held at State House this morning,” an official close to the talks said on condition of anonymity, referring to Mugabe’s official residence.
”We hope that probably by end of today they will be an agreement on the allocation of ministries.”
The South African government said on Friday that former president Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the power-sharing deal, had agreed to resume his mediation to resolve the crisis.
However, Mbeki will not be attending the meeting, his spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga said on Saturday.
On Thursday new South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said he fully supported Mbeki’s role as the Southern African Development Community mediator.
”Our government has full confidence in Mr Mbeki’s ability to build on the historic successes already made in the power-sharing negotiations under his mediation.
”Mr Mbeki’s facilitation efforts in Zimbabwe have proven his dispassionate vision for a lasting political solution to the challenges facing Zimbabwe,” Motlanthe said.
Mediation?
The MDC this week called for Mbeki to mediate in the talks but Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party insisted that no outside mediation was needed.
The dispute is believed to centre on control of the defence, home affairs, state security and finance ministries.
Nathaniel Manheru, a columnist in the state-run Herald newspaper on Saturday said the opposition should grab whatever was on the platter.
”Let them take what is in on offer when they meet the president today at State House for another round of talks,” Manheru said.
”That is the way to hasten honours which they crave for, but which they do not have presently.”
Under the deal, Mugabe will remain as head of state after nearly three decades in power while Tsvangirai is to take up a new post of prime minister and Mutambara will be a deputy prime minister.
The deal was heralded as a historic initiative to resolve Zimbabwe’s political deadlock and economic melt-down.
Once one of Africa’s most prosperous countries, Zimbabwe now suffers the world’s highest rate of inflation, last estimated at 11,2-million percent, leaving 80% of the population living in poverty. – AFP
