Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Zuma jets in

Zuma jets in
Our reporter/AFP
Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:55:00 +0000

SOUTH African President Jacob Zuma arrived in Zimbabwe Thursday in a state visit that will see him officially opening the annual Zimbabwe Agricultural Show and briefing President Robert Mugabe on the meeting he held earlier this month with PM Tsvangirai.

President Zuma met PM Tsvangirai in Johannesburg earlier this month to discuss progress made in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement signed in February this year by the leaders of the three main political parties.

President Mugabe held a state dinner with the SA president and PM Tsvangirai early Thursday evening. President Zuma is expected to officially open the Harare Agricultural Show on Friday. This is his first trip since his inauguration as president in May.

PM Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) says President Mugabe should reconsider the appointments of the Reserve Bank chief and the attorney general.

Zanu PF's highest decision-making body outside Congress, the Politburo, says the MDC-T party is yet to fulfill promises made when the inclusive Government was formed.

The politburo wants President Mugabe to avoid any further compromises without the MDC fulfilling these promises, among which is lobbying Western governments to lift illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe and individuals aligned to Zanu PF.

The party's politburo earlier this month publicly called on President Mugabe "to resist any pressures intended to prejudice the party".

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Thursday called the MDC-T concerns a distraction, saying Western sanctions were undermining the inclusive Government.

"Our position is very clear. We hope our principal, President Robert Mugabe, tells President Zuma that the outstanding issues are that of sanctions and external interference," Chinamasa told AFP news agency.

"The so-called outstanding issues, which are the issues of the (Reserve Bank) governor and the attorney general, are nowhere in the Global Political Agreement," said Chinamasa, who was Zanu PF's lead negotiator in the inter-party talks.

"This is meant to distract attention from the inclusive Government," Chinamasa added.

South Africa, Zimbabwe's biggest trading partner, is a key backer of the inclusive Government.

A South African government official, in Harare ahead of the trip, insisted President Zuma was coming to seek compromise.

"There are issues which have to be addressed, but as South Africa we believe that every problem presents a new opportunity," the official told AFP.

"Zimbabwe is far much better today than what it was last year, so we believe a compromise will eventually be found." - TZG/AFP

Labels: JACOB ZUMA, MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 1:03 AM