Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Tsvangirai given ultimatum

Tsvangirai given ultimatum
Ranganai Chidemo
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:10:00 +0000

THE leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been given an ultimatum to sign a final document that was crafted by the negotiators to the all-party talks and which he appended several of his signatures as it was developed or else the president will go ahead and form a cabinet without members of the opposition party.

A report from Harare said that the MDC-T leader will meet President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and President Robert Mugabe today in a last bid attempt to finalise a process that started over thirteen months ago and mandated by the regional Southern African Development Community.

President Mbeki met with the two leaders briefly in Zambia yesterday after the burial of President Levy Mwanawasa who died last month.

According to reports in the capital a deal is already in place which will see the MDC-T leader installed as Prime Minister with some powers and President Mugabe retains full authority as Head of State.

The MDC-T leader walked out of the all-party talks last month citing “sticking points” in the talks led by President Mbeki. He (Tsvangirai) argued that the powers that were being conferred on him would have made him a “lame duck” PM as he had no power to chair Cabinet meetings, and hire, censure or fire cabinet members (and ministers).

Yesterday Tsvangirai told South Africa’s Talk Radio 702 that another sticking point pertained to the exact distribution of power within the military. Tsvangirai wanted the military structures redefined to include “generals and staff from the MDC party”. – a demand dismissed as “impossible” by the ruling Zanu PF party. The ruling party argues that “diluting” the army would compromise the security position of Zimbabwe as the MDC-T had no skilled military personnel to replace existing ones.

President Mugabe said Tsvangirai was “being compromised” by the demands of the British government. He said Tsvangirai was not his own man and was playing to the demands and pressures of foreigners, especially Britain and its allies, in negotiations.

Intelligence reports from Harare indicated that the British preferred the MDC-T leader to be Head of State, which would have left President Mugabe as a ceremonial leader – a situation said to be non-negotiable by the Zanu PF party. President Mugabe won the June 27 presidential run-off election which Tsvangirai boycotted citing increasing violence. However, in a joint communiqué issued by the MDC-T and Zanu PF parties last month, they both took collective responsibility for the violence in the post March 29 election period.

President Mugabe indicated that Zimbabwe cannot go on without a cabinet forever, as he left for Zambia to attend Mwanawasa’s funeral.

Speaking to reporters at the airport, he said: “We are a Government, and we are a Government that is empowered by elections. So we should form a Cabinet. We will not allow a situation where we will not have a Cabinet forever.

“If after tomorrow (today) Tsvangirai does not want to sign, we will certainly put together a Cabinet. We feel frozen at the moment.”

Reports elsewhere say President Mbeki is in Harare to negotiate further powers for the MDC-T leader including co-chairing cabinet – a move dismissed by the ruling party as “nonsense” and ignorant of the workings of government.

Labels: MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, NEGOTIATIONS

posted by MrK @ 2:28 PM