t the weekend. The
Independent
Foreign Service (IFS) established last night that Mugabe’s
representatives
to the talks – Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Labour Minister
Nicholas Goche – did not show up for the dialogue due to have resumed
yesterday. The South African government is meeting all the costs for
the
talks, including air tickets and subsistence and upkeep expenses for
the
main political representatives and several of their supporting
technical
staff. Authoritative sources said the excuse given by Mugabe’s party
for the
last-minute no-show was that the two ministers had to take part in
crucial
Zanu PF central committee and cabinet meetings. These were called to
discuss
the economic turmoil in Zimbabwe as well as to brief colleagues on the
state
of the dialogue to date. The IFS also established that the SA
government was
not impressed by Chinamasa and Goche’s failure to turn up. It sees the
dialogue as key to resolving the Zimbabwean crisis. The talks are
chiefly
aimed at creating conditions for a free and fair election next year.
Sources
said the talks had now been rescheduled for next week, assuming that
Goche
and Chinamasa turn up for the dialogue.
Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have already
agreed on the agenda for discussions, after initial preparatory talks
in
Pretoria last month. But the agenda was agreed upon only after Goche
and
Chinamasa had twice failed to pitch up for scheduled meetings. When
they
finally did turn up, it was after Mbeki had intervened. This week’s
talks
were meant to be the first substantive dialogue on the agreed agenda.
Further evidence that Mugabe is not sincere about dialogue emerged at
the
weekend, when he ruled out a new constitution for Zimbabwe.
Nevertheless,
the need for a democratic constitution tops the agreed agenda for the
talks.
In March, Southern African Development Community leaders mandated Mbeki
to
mediate between Zanu PF and the MDC for a solution to the political
crisis.
SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salamao was mandated to draft an
economic
rescue package for Zimbabwe. Authoritative sources said Salamao was
preparing a dramatic plan to rescue the shattered Zimbabwean economy by
recommending the extension of the SA rand’s monetary area into
Zimbabwe. The
aim would be to stabilise the exchange rate of the Zimbabwe dollar and
curb
inflation so that the country could buy foreign exchange to continue
importing essential goods.