MDC-T ministers defy Tsvangirai, attend Cabinet meeting

MDC-T ministers defy Tsvangirai, attend Cabinet meeting
By: Floyd Nkomo
Posted: Sunday, October 17, 2010 3:00 am

THE Movement for Democratic Change party is back at work despite claims that there is a 'constitutional crisis' in Zimbabwe by the prime minister. Although Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Thokozani Khupe did not attend the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, business of government went on as usual with President Mugabe chairing.

Most ministers from the MDC-T, including Finance Minister Tendai Biti, were in attendance, making Mr Tsvangirai's boycott meaningless; and showing a rift that is developing in the party.

Minister Biti is said to have been critical of Mr Tsvangirai's latest blunder to send letters to western countries and the UN were President Mugabe reassigned diplomats.

Mr Tsvangirai went ahead with the team in his office to write the letters which caused a lot of embarrassment for the MDC-T and exposed its ignorance in international affairs and diplomacy.

The prime minister made a last minute decision to go to Nyanga to attend a Rights and Interest Cluster review meeting on Wednesday instead of Thursday, so that he could avoid meeting President Mugabe in Cabinet.

The prime minister was originally scheduled to open this review meeting on Thursday, in deference to a session of Cabinet deferred to Wednesday on account of the President’s Libyan fixture.

The prime minister would have been confronted on his decision to write to western embassies calling for the nullification of ambassadorial appointments made by President Mugabe earlier this month.

Zimbabwe's Short Term Emergency Recovery Plan divided all the Government Ministries into five clusters, namely the Economic cluster; the Infrastructure cluster; the Social cluster; the Rights and Interest cluster; and the Security cluster.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example, belongs to the Rights and Interest Cluster.

Rift developing

Reports from the capital say Finance Minister Biti went ahead with his usual meetings with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr Gideon Gono, in clear defiance of his boss's statement calling the appointment of Dr Gono a nullity.

Mr Tsvangirai says his party will not recognise Dr Gono as Governor

While Mr Tsvangirai continues to talk about “restrictive measures”, Mr Biti boldly declares that Zimbabwe is under sanctions.