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(TALKZIMBABWE) GPA principals see "tremendous improvement" in Zim

GPA principals see "tremendous improvement" in Zim
Nancy Pasipanodya
Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:54:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe said Zimbabwe has seen "tremendous improvement" under the inclusive Government and the three political party principals were working in harmony for the development of the country.

He said that progress had been made in clearing the outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement, and hoped the economy would get better ahead of the New Year.

He was speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara in the capital Harare.

"There is tremendous improvement to the political environment. People have heeded our calls for peace," President Mugabe said.

"We are very happy. We hope that next year will be much better. We are forging ahead," he said.

"Only yesterday we were boxing each other," the president added.

"We found each other, we are talking to each other, drinking together and we are very happy."

The three leaders joked and laughed following their meeting, in sharp contrast to their years of rivalry. The three said they were determined to clear outstanding issues before the new year. No new meeting of the top leaders was set, but they indicated their aides would be meeting.

"The three of us have agreed that we must finish the inclusive government issues quickly," President Mugabe said, adding he had signed off on Monday on several ambassadorial appointments made in consultation with the other principals.

PM Tsvangirai also echoed President Mugabe's sentiments insisting that there was no going back on the power-sharing arrangement, despite his party's insistence on reversing key political appointments.

President Mugabe on September 15, 2008 signed a Global Political Agreement with Tsvangirai and Mutambara which paved the way for the formation of the inclusive Government.

But the inclusive Government has been hamstrung over disputes on naming the central bank governor and the attorney general.

Despite the disagreements, PM Tsvangirai said the inclusive Government would not collapse.

"We are in the driving seat and the process can't be reversed," he said.

"The inclusive Government, after 10 months, has been receiving a lot of support from amongst Zimbabweans across the political divide. This is quite heartening," he added.

Labels: GLOBAL POLITICAL AGREEMENT, MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 9:26 AM