(NEWZIMBABWE) PM has 'lost his marbles': Zanu PF

PM has 'lost his marbles': Zanu PF
by Lebo Nkatazo
12/10/2010 00:00:00

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was labelled a “dangerous enemy of the rule of law” on Tuesday night as Zanu PF shrugged off his letters to the European Union, the United Nations and four countries asking them not to recognise envoys appointed by President Robert Mugabe without consulting his ruling coalition partners. Tsvangirai said the posting of the envoys to the UN, the EU, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and South Africa was “illegal and unconstitutional”.

The Prime Minister was also angry with Mugabe’s decision to extend the terms of office of the country’s 10 provincial governors despite agreement between his MDC party, a rival MDC faction led by Deputy Prime Minister and Zanu PF over sharing the governorships.

In an interview with New Zimbabwe.com, Zanu PF’s Tsholotsho North MP Jonathan Moyo claimed Tsvangirai had “lost his marbles”. Moyo said Tsangirai’s “indignation” over the governors was “particularly surprising”.

“There is nothing either in the constitution or the Global Political Agreement which says the MDC must be allocated governorships,” Moyo said. “The reality is that a deal around governors was reached well after the September 15 agreement as a political arrangement.

“But as Zanu PF we have said, and Tsvangirai knows this, that we are connecting the governors to sanctions. When the sanctions are lifted, we would be happy to revisit that issue. They know that.”

Moyo called the MDC “crazy” to be pushing demands to have governors.

The former Information Minister said: “I personally think it’s crazy for them to expect our president to appoint their people to represent him in the provinces because governors are essentially the President’s representatives.

“I see no reason why the President should appoint his political opponents to represent him. As part of their duties, governors regularly read out the President’s speeches at official events where he can’t be present. Can you imagine an MDC governor reading out passages like ‘Zimbabwe will never be a colony again’, ‘down with imperialism’ and ‘to hell with puppets’?”

On the ambassadors, Moyo claimed the MDC was “misreading” the constitution which compels Mugabe to “consult and agree” with respect to “occupants of senior government positions, such as permanent secretaries and the ambassadors ... prior to their appointments.”

Moyo said: “The President saw no need to consult Tsvangirai because no new ambassadors were appointed. The ambassadors Tsvangirai refers to were already in service and were simply moved around.

“To be correct, if there were to be new appointments, he would be consulted but these people became ambassadors ages ago. Should they cease being ambassadors because Tsvangirai is having problems with job seekers?

“In any case ambassadors serve at the President’s mercy, never at the Prime Minister’s in countries with a constitutional arrangement like ours. Tsvangirai must know that the Prime Minister is not responsible for Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs and Defence are never in the hands of a Prime Minister – from Tanzania, Namibia, Kenya to France.”
Moyo claimed Tsvangirai was creating a “constitutional crisis”, the same allegation the MDC leader made against Mugabe.

“His behaviour shows that he is the biggest and most dangerous enemy of the rule of law and constitutionalism. I hope the world will finally see why we have problems with this guy,” said Moyo.

Tsvangirai has also accused Mugabe of going back on his promise to swear in Roy Bennett, a controversial white farmer slated to become Deputy Agriculture Minister.

Mugabe refused to swear-in Bennett as he was facing treason charges, but promised that if he were to be cleared, he would allow him to start work at the ministry. Bennett was acquitted in May.

Speaking on October 7, Tsvangirai said “Mugabe has gone back on his word”, adding: “The matter of Roy Bennett has now become a personal vendetta and part of a racist agenda.”
But Moyo accuses the MDC leader of “playing loose with facts”.

He added: “The President said he would swear in Bennett as soon as his treason matter is settled and we all know it isn’t because the state appealed to the Supreme Court against his acquittal.

“Until the Supreme Court hands down judgment, Bennett is neither guilty nor innocent because the effect of the appeal was to suspend the High Court ruling.

“What we can learn from this is that these guys don’t understand the law. They make a lot of noise about the rule of law but this is evidence that even if it hits them in their faces, they wouldn’t recognise it.”

Moyo claimed Tsvangirai was under pressure from the so called “kitchen cabinet” – a term used to refer to his team of advisers – who were eyeing government jobs.

“A normal person who has not lost his marbles does not behave like Tsvangirai who is proving to the world that he has no understanding of governance and international relations, and that he would not hesitate to be reckless and expose his ignorance, if not foolishness,” Moyo said.

“He’s all over the place, wanting to be consulted even on the appointment of judges. Judges are appointed by the President on the recommendations of the Judicial Service Commission, and not Tsvangirai, the MDC or anyone else.”

He added: “Let’s be clear, Tsvangirai’s noises are nothing to do with principle. It is about him responding to pressure from job seekers in his party who are becoming impatient because they are seeing their colleagues with fat stomachs, designer suits, cooks and driving Mercedes Benz ... they want to be part of the gravy train, and they are desperate.”