Dumisani Muleya

Prominent church leaders are expected to meet President Robert Mugabe next week to discuss Zimbabwe’s deteriorating political and economic situation as pressure mounts at home and abroad for him to quit. This comes against a background of South Africa’s evident alarm this week at the deepening crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe ruling party Zanu-PF’s plan to amend the Constitution to delay the 2008 presidential election until 2010 to facilitate Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s succession to President Mugabe appears to have collapsed in acrimony after its designated architect, justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, confirmed it is no longer on the cards.

The ruling Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe has set its sights on achieving a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on March 31. The party’s secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, told the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> that "judging by the situation on the ground and the turnout at our rallies, the opposition presence in Parliament will be cut to 15 seats".

Zimbabwe’s Information and Publicity Minister Jonathan Moyo performed a dramatic volte-face four years ago, turning full circle from being President Robert Mugabe’s trenchant critic to become his toadying spin doctor. But now he faces the grim reality of dismissal and crushing out-of-office ignominy. And Moyo has brought about his own crisis of credibility.

Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has expressed fears that Zanu-PF could have started rigging next year’s election using the latest "fictitious" voters’ roll. As a result, Harare and Bulawayo — controlled by the MDC — could lose seats during the ongoing delimitation exercise, he said.

The influential Zanu-PF Women’s League has entered the Zimbabwean ruling party’s succession race and is now lobbying for a prominent woman politburo member to be nominated as vice-president during the party’s forthcoming December congress.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is wavering between piecemeal reforms and panicky repression as he struggles for survival ahead of next year’s crucial general election. Mugabe said during the opening of Parliament this week that his government would adopt electoral reforms, but at the same time warned of looming legislation to gag telecommunications and NGOs.

Zimbabwe’s blood-soaked parliamentary by-election last weekend, won by President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF amid accusations of violence and bribery, could be a harbinger of things to come during next year’s general election. Analysts said the election, which was also marred by coercion and the inducement of people to vote through "gifts" or "donations", proved Mugabe’s regime was still rigidly determined to cling to power by fair means or foul.

The state-owned Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) has come under the spotlight for a controversial sale of weapons of war to the 70 suspected mercenaries currently being held in Harare. During the initial remand hearing for the suspects on Tuesday ZDI was officially confirmed as the supplier of a large consignment of arms to the group.

Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption crackdown last week resulted in the closure of five key financial institutions. President Robert Mugabe is vigorously dismantling the country’s deep-rooted economic patronage system in an effort to ensure his political survival. As many as 10 of the country’s businessmen have fled abroad in recent weeks.

Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is locked in a conundrum over whether or not to contest next year’s general election under the current electoral framework and in the prevailing political climate.

Despite casting aspersions on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) this week, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe conceded the need to engage his arch-rivals in a bid to find a negotiated settlement to the current crisis. The Zimbabwean leader understands that a negotiated settlement is the only way forward.

President Thabo Mbeki’s plan to bring lasting peace to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo within 90 days faces serious problems of implementation and operational capacity among peacekeeping agencies, analysts said this week.