Zim talks down to one ministry – Swazi PM

Zim talks down to one ministry – Swazi PM
Nancy Pasipanodya
Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:31:00 +0000

THE Prime Minister of Swaziland has indicated that the power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe are now focussing on just one ministry and urged the main parties in the country to come up with a speedy solution to the political and economic crisis in the country.

Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini was speaking to reporters and government officials at Swaziland’s Matsapha International Airport after attending the Southern African Development Community’s Troika summit on Zimbabwe.

Dlamini chaired the summit on behalf of His Majesty King Mswati III, the current chair of the Sadc Troika – the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security of the regional grouping.

“The talks went throughout the day and night. We spoke until dawn. The problem now is with the Ministry of Home Affairs. Mugabe (President) wants it and Tsvangirai wants it. That is why the talks could not be concluded,” he briefed a group of Swazi Ministers, deputy Ministers and Permanent Secretaries in the airport’s VIP lounge.

Dlamini said the state of economy in Zimbabwe had deteriorated to low levels such that the value of the currency was now too low.

“In order to buy bread, one needs to carry a lot of dollars. The prices are also volatile in that a particular commodity may cost a certain amount at one time. However, this price could change rapidly.”

Dlamini said former South African President Thabo Mbeki will continue with facilitation efforts in preparation for a full Sadc summit in two weeks’ time.

Leaders of Mozambique, Swaziland and Angola who make up the current troika met with President Mugabe, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and Executive Secretary of Sadc, Tomaz Salamao and the leaders of the two Movement for Democratic Change formations on Monday to try and break the current political deadlock in the country.

A communiqué issued after the summit indicated that the talks were inconclusive and referred them to a full Sadc meeting which will be held in two weeks’ time.

MDC DEMANDS

Meanwhile the Secretary General of the MDC-T party Tendai Biti held a press conference on Tuesday at which he refuted the details issued in the Sadc Troika communiqué.

The communiqué indicated that talks had centred on the outstanding issue of the control of the Home Affairs ministry – a statement corroborated by PM Dlamini, Sadc Secretary Salamao and President Motlanthe of South Africa.

According to Biti all “key ministries” are still under discussion and “are supposed to be shared equitably”.

Biti issued a statement saying the document signed on Global Agreement signed by the principals to the talks (the party leaders) was fundamentally different from the one signed at the official ceremony attended by Sadc leaders on September 15. Biti’s statement was in direct contrast to MDC-T spokesman, Nelson Chamisa’s statement that the difference was a typographical error.

Chamisa told SW Radio that the errors were “not going to be a big mountain to climb for the concerned parties.”

He added: “Well it’s not about the removal of the details. I suppose its typo errors and hopefully it’s going to be corrected. This is why we are not interested in making a mountain out of a mole hill.”

In reference to the same errors, Biti said referred to them as the “fraudulent alteration of the agreement of the 11th of September 2008 and the one that was signed on the 15th of September 2008.”

PASSPORT FOR TSVANGIRAI

Biti also indicated that the next Sadc summit to be held in the next two weeks should help break the current political impasse. He, however, said that if the MDC leader, morgan Tsvangirai was not issued with a passport he would not be attending the summit – if it was held outside Zimbabwe.

“We will not travel on an [emergency document] … The passport issue is the crudest form of a lack of sincerity” by Zanu PF party, he said.

Tsvangirai has not had a passport for almost a year. He has travelled to Europe and all over Africa in the past few months on an Emergency Travel Document.