SW Radio Africa (London)
Violet Gonda
14 October 2008
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday night to try and save the interparty power sharing agreement from collapse. On Tuesday he was locked in closed door meetings with the leaders of ZANU PF and the two MDC formations, at the Rainbow Towers hotel in Harare.
This is the first time that Mbeki is in Zimbabwe since stepping down as South Africa's President a couple of weeks ago. Journalists waiting outside the hotel said the normal reception for a Head of State was clearly missing, when the former President arrived for the talks in one of Mugabe's old Mercs.
The night before Mbeki was met at the airport by Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi. The days of Robert Mugabe meeting him, complete with flower girls, have gone.
Journalist Angus Shaw said: "I saw him today in a motorcade with just two outriders, it wasn't even a motorcade. He is not being afforded that protocol of being a top leader anymore. So I think we are down to a situation where his authority has been undermined."
However, Mbeki is still the ambassador of the Southern African Development Community (SADC); a body which many hope will break the impasse, and restore sanity in Zimbabwe.
The agreement hit a major gridlock when Mugabe unilaterally gazetted key ministries on Friday evening, a few hours after the three principals had "agreed to disagree" on this issue and had referred the matter to the mediator.
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai warned on Sunday that he will not compromise on the issue of the key ministries and will pull out if they are not allocated equally.
Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga confirmed the South African leader had started meetings with the Zimbabwean leaders, but he would not be drawn into saying how long Mbeki is planning to be in Zimbabwe. He also wouldn't provide any details of the deadlock. Mugabe is saying the dispute is only over one outstanding ministry, that of finance. The MDC say all the ministries are in debate.
Ratshitanga said: "The fact of the matter as we know and as all the parties agree, there is a deadlock and any deadlock will have various manifestations. It manifests itself in different ways. So the first thing we have to discuss is what is the deadlock between all these parties."
Journalists waiting at the Rainbow Towers say this is a make or break meeting and unless Mbeki can persuade Mugabe to yield, the agreement between the rival parties will collapse.
As he arrived at the meeting one of the principals, Arthur Mutambara, told journalists that Mugabe's announcement of ministries was a travesty of common sense. He said it's not a shared arrangement when you don't share.
Angus Shaw said the other leaders said nothing and Morgan Tsvangirai looked extremely grim. He said the mood in the MDC is that there will be a revolt if Tsvangirai does not get the Home Affairs Ministry, that controls the police. So far Robert Mugabe has given himself both key security ministries, including Defence.
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Mabhiza.
Why are you so dissapointed? Clearly the Butcher of Harare has decided to go against the spirit of the GNU and appoint all the key ministries to his own party. Clearly this is not an even sharing of power as clearly agreed. the MDC has therefor only one option and that is to go back to the mediator to sort it out. Its quite simple really. It has nothing to do with the west, it is everything to do with Mugabe making a brazen attempt to grab power from the people of Zimbabwe. Why cant you see this? Why… [Read Full Text]
I say that if Tsvangrai and his MDC team have principles, they must just pull out and do their own thing, whatever, away from the ZANU administration and the State President, RMG. It seems that the MDC is wasting time ... there is only one honourable option: Get out!!! Their friend Odinga accepted much less ... perhaps it is because Odinga had no strings attached to him by you know who, the puppetier. Odinga had no foreign controllers. Of course, the MDC controllers now expect a good return for their efforts and the millions of dollars that they paid Tsvangirai… [Read Full Text]
How can you say that the MDC are wasting time when its clear that Mugabe has gone against the spirit of the agreement under the GNU that power should be shared by giving himself control of the 6 key ministries? It has nothing to do with puppets and strings, its to do with Mugabe going against the people of Zimbabwe and not honouring the spirit of the GNI and giving himself all the power.
Odinga accepted less, but why should Tsvangarai accept less when he had 53% of the vote between him and Mugabe? He should have the majority of… [Read Full Text]
these chatterboxes are ever making the loudest of all noises. They continue to whine like women impregnated out of wedlock clamouring for maintenance after having acted irresponsibly. we preached and preached Zanu is not going anywhere. Why give them finance when they went on clamouring for sanctions on Zimbabwe. Mutambara faction I wouldnt mind but teaboy kwete, no ways.At least the other group is neutral.Its only a matter of having these sanctions removed and then working towards a common purpose that our economy can be rescuscitated. Finance u can forget and relax it is not going anywhere.We shall be going… [Read Full Text]
This chatterbox makes a lot of sense.
"They continue to whine like women impregnated out of wedlock clamouring for maintenance after having acted irresponsibly"
DID YOU SERIOULSY JUST SAY THAT! JEEZ THAT REALLY JUST SHOWS ME WHAT TYPE OF PERSON YOU ARE. THATS JUST DISGRACEFUL. Clearly for the woman to have gotten pregnant, the man must have acted irresponsibly too. Havent you heard of contraception you idiot. Just shows me what class of society you are.
If you have the brains to rescucitate the economy then why did you let the economy get to the point it… [Read Full Text]
Greenbomber, I really hope everyone else here reads your comment about women. I've flagged it as abusive, becuase thats exactly what it is. But here it is again, for people to realise exactly the mentality that sits behind Greenbomber.
"They continue to whine like women impregnated out of wedlock clamouring for maintenance after having acted irresponsibly"
Mabhiza I am quite sure une ngozi ndimi vanhu vaiponda innocent civilians. I suspect you are bitter and jittery because your time is nigh. Who ever told you that the west voted in elections in Zimbabwe brainwashed to an extent that you are now brain damaged. For your own information, MDC uchida usingade ndeye mwana wemuZimbabwe and shall live longer muchasvotwa mukaona nhamo. Through all that propaganda you have failed dismally to destroy MDC.
Mabhiza (wonder how you came up with that name as history shows that their where no horses in our part of the world until the coming of the arabs and whites). You and your lot keep shouting about sanctions, can you answer one question. And I am asking you you to post any answer on this forum please.
"WHY THE HELL DID WE HAVE ESAP IF THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ECONOMY?"
On your comment about Tsvangirai's education, typical of your euroscentiism where one has to be educated to western standads to recieve any sort of consideration, I have… [Read Full Text]
You know, i just hope that President R.G.M will not yeild to the demands of the Western sponsored proxy(MDC-T) and its renewed stubborness..Key ministries like home affairs and defense must stay with the revolutionary party, since it's the custodian of the nation's proud heritage, liberation struggle legacy, our cultural values, sovereignty & independence...MDC-T will go down the annals of Zim history as a bunch of sellouts who were used by outsiders to betray a revolution in which thousands of ZIM children perished..That pothole faced coward, Tsvangi, who ran away from the liberation war needs to understand that Home affairs… [Read Full Text]