Solution to the Zim crisis was in sight…

J’burg — Tendai Biti, the chief strategist  and the secretary general of the MDC said Sunday that he believed a GNU deal between ZANU-PF and the MDC was still possible.

Biti, who has failed to tell MDC supporters why the MDC joined the GNU talks when ZANU-PF is still harassing MDC supporters and other pro-democracy groups, has his treason court case still pending in the courts.

Biti told a news conference in Johannesburg after a regional summit the that MDC was committed to the negotiations and that failure was not an option.

“We trust that there will be a conclusion … very soon. There are issues that are outstanding, but quite clearly one has no business in negotiating if you are not prepared to compromise,” Biti said. Reportedly the MDC has made major concessions to ZANU-PF’s minor ones.

“It is critical that we conclude this dialogue as a matter of urgency.”

Negotiations began last month after President Robert Mugabe was re-elected unopposed in June in a vote condemned around the world and boycotted by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai because of attacks on his supporters.

When the SADC summit told the world a GNU deal would be signed before the summit ends, something analysts was a blatant “misrepresentation” of information. As predicted by analysts, the summit ended Sunday with no deal being signed.

Earlier Sunday, a troika of southern African leaders at the summit called on Zimbabwe’s parties to quickly reach a power-sharing agreement and said parliament may have to be convened as talks continue, South African President Thabo Mbeki said.

But the troika did not impose a deadline and it was not possible to say when a deal would be reached, said Mbeki, the new chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional grouping.

All Zimbabwe’s neighbours fear the consequences if its political stalemate and economic decline lead to total meltdown.

Millions of Zimbabweans have fled across borders to escape the world’s highest inflation rate of over 2 million percent as well as high unemployment and shortages of basic goods.

ZANU-PF, although negotiating with the MDC for a power sharing, still hasn’t dismantled ZANU-PF militia bases across the country where people are still being tortured for being supporters and activists of the MDC — Harare Tribune