According to a senior official in the MDC, several ZANU PF bigwigs who were responsible for this year’s election violence which claimed the lives of over 131 opposition activists are reluctant to have their party concede ministries which have a direct bearing on their prosecution or immunity. In a series of meetings held before and after Mugabe’s trip to the United Nations summit, the ZANU PF leader has been warned against conceding the Home Affairs, Justice, Defence and Prison ministries.
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Although speculation has often cited other ministries like Foreign Affairs, Finance, Information and Local Government, ZANU PF’s desire to cling on to portfolios linked to justice and security remains the critical stumbling block. Other officials implicated in illegal financial, mining and other scandals have also thrown their spanners into the works trying to stifle the deal. Newsreel has been told Gideon Gono who heads the Reserve Bank fears a forensic audit into his tenure as this could expose a lot of irregular dealings. Speculation that Mugabe wants to appoint Gono as Finance Minister has added to suspicions of an elaborate cover-up.
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Not only are we battling thieves who stole money from state coffers, there are those who killed people in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the eighties. Some of these people were at it again in the run-up to the March and June elections this year,’ the official told Newsreel. Should the MDC take over Home Affairs or even the Justice Ministry, you can see why they are uncomfortable.’ While the MDC are prepared to concede the Defence ministry this they say should be reciprocated by their control of the Home Affairs ministry which controls the police. In South Africa’s first post apartheid government, bitter ANC rival Mangosuthu Buthelezi was appointed Home Affairs minister as a sign of goodwill, why can’t Mugabe do the same here?’ the official asked.
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Meanwhile Newsreel has it on good authority the MDC are insisting on control of the Information, Local Government, Home Affairs and Finance Ministries as the pre-requisites for their involvement in any new cabinet. Under their proposals ZANU PF can retain control of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Mining and Justice ministries among others. – SW Radio African News