Power-sharing talks stalled, MDC to issue damning statement on Sunday

 

In an interview, Chamisa said the MDC would issue a press statement this afternoon (Sunday) detailing the course of action his party would take following the stalled talks in Pretoria on Friday.

 

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is still in South Africa whilst Zanu (PF) leader president Mugabe has returned to his crisis plagued southern African nation.

 

“There is  a general feeling among the civic societies, the Movement for Democratic Change circles and the nation at large that Zanu (PF) and its leadership are holding the nation at ransom.

 

“We will issue a full statement tomorrow (Sunday) on our way forward following the collapsed talks in Pretoria,” said Chamisa.

 

President Thabo Mbeki’s spokesperson, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said the discussions were facing challenges but could not reveal what challenges were they.

 

He refused to shed more light pertaining the halted power-sharing talks on Friday referring CAJ News to Zanu (PF) Patrick Chinamasa, the ruling party’s chief power-sharing negotiator and the two MDC factions’ spokespersons.

 

“I can not comment on this matter, but there is a need for both parties to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis,” said Ratshitanga.

 

The talks came to a standstill on Friday when president Mugabe refused to co-chair the cabinet with Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition political party in Zimbabwe arguing that such arrangements would hamper proper running of the government.

 

Tsvangirai, who won 100 seats in parliament whilst Mugabe garnered only 99 were expected to join hands with Mugabe on an equal power-sharing government of national unity, but the 84-year old leader has vehemtnly rejected any moves and proposals  to co-chair the cabinet with Tsvangirai neither handing over the security ministry under MDC fearing the opposition leader would abuse power.

 

Speaking on the sidelines of the stalled talks in Pretoria, Joshua-Mambo Rusere of the Zimbabwe Political Victims Association (ZIPOVA) said the nation and civic societies saw it coming before the talks were stalled.

 

“These talks are nothing but just to waste time and resources for nothing.  We have been repeatedly telling the world that Mugabe is full-fledged dictator and that he would never ever listen to president Thabo Mbeki’s initiatives.

 

“We knew it that the talks would completely fail because Mugabe has never accepted another person becoming a leader ahead of him. We have enough evidence to prove that from the liberation struggle up to this present moment, Mugabe was involved in dirty tactics, of course some of them linked to disappearance or death of former military commnders and Zanu (PF) leadership in the bus,” said Mambo-Rusere--CAJ News.

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