Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Herald newspaper had reported on Thursday that Mbeki would travel to Harare to get opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to sign a draft power-sharing deal and that if he refused President Robert Mugabe would proceed to appoint a new Cabinet – a move that would virtually mean the end of power-sharing talks.
Mbeki is the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s chief mediator in the talks that have stalled over how Mugabe and Tsvangirai should share executive power in a government of national unity.
The South African presidency said in a statement: “The presidency wishes to place it on record that President Mbeki is not travelling to Harare today.
The brief statement which urged journalists to exercise caution when reporting on the stalled Zimbabwe talks did not say whether there were any plans in the near future for Mbeki to travel Harare.
The Zimbabwe talks that only a few weeks ago showed much promise that a political settlement was within easy reach have in recent days looked irreversibly headed for collapse especially after Mugabe gave Tsvangirai up to yesterday to sign the draft power-sharing deal or he would form a government without the opposition leader and his MDC party.
“If after tomorrow (Thursday) Tsvangirai does not want to sign we will certainly put together a Cabinet. We feel frozen at the moment,” Mugabe told reporters in Lusaka on Wednesday after attending the funeral of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa.
Speculation was rife in Harare on Thursday that Mugabe could even announce a new Cabinet within the next two days.
The MDC rejected Mugabe’s ultimatum saying it would not be bullied into signing the draft deal. “Where on earth have you seen dialogue held on the basis of threats and ultimatum? They want to bully us into an agreement, but that’s completely unacceptable,” said party spokesman, Nelson Chamisa.
The MDC has said if Mugabe appoints a new Cabinet that would be the end of negotiations. Senior officials of the MDC told ZimOnline privately that Tsvangirai had in fact lost faith in the talks and was on a campaign to bring key Africa states and major international powers to intensify diplomatic pressure on Mugabe to relinquish power.
Under the draft power-sharing deal brokered by Mbeki and endorsed by the SADC but which Tsvangirai has refused to sign, Mugabe would remain executive president in charge of both state and government.
Tsvangirai would virtually be a ceremonial prime minister without power to hire or fire government ministers. He would also not chair Cabinet meetings.
The MDC leader, who under the proposed deal would be required to report regularly to Mugabe, refused to sign the deal saying he could not be a prime minister without executive power.
Analysts say only a government of national unity could be able to tackle Zimbabwe’s long-running crisis marked by political violence and a bitter recession seen in the world’s highest inflation of more than 11 million percent, 80 percent unemployment, shortages of food and basic commodities.
Western donor nations whose financial support is vital to any effort to revive Zimbabwe’s crumbled economy have said they would back a unity government only if its executive head is Tsvangirai. – ZimOnline